Together Again
by awtr101fan
Summary: New chapter finally here! A new girl with ties to Luis Mendoza comes to Eden Hall. What happens when members of the Varsity team try to make trouble for our favorite hockey team? Will the boy Ducks be able to save the day? Please R&R! Rating 4 language.
1. Mili

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks or any members of the Varsity team that show up here. They all belong to Disney. I only own my original characters.**

**Author's Note: To anyone reading my other fics, I have not given up on them. Do not worry. I just had to write this down before it got away from me. Enjoy the chapter :-p**

**Summary: A new girl with ties to Luis Mendoza comes to Eden Hall. What happens when members of the Varsity team try to make trouble for our favorite hockey team? Will the boy Ducks be able to save the day?**

**Chapter One: Mili**

The sun was setting on the lake at Eden Hall Academy. A group of boys and girls were sitting around laughing and enjoying the early evening when the ringing of a cell phone interrupted them.

"Mendoza speaking."

"Luis! Is that any way to greet your mother? Respeto! (Respect!)"

"Perdoname Mamita. No sabia que eras tu. (I'm sorry Mommy. I didn't know it was you.)"

"That's much better."

The look on Luis' face went from sheepish to happy even though his mother couldn't see it over the telephone.

"How is everyone in Miami? I miss them so much."

"We're all fine Mijito. And we all miss you too. I was actually calling for a reason."

His interest was peaked.

"De verdad? (Really?) What's that Mama?"

"Your prima is going to school with you. She was just given a music scholarship and will be arriving in the next week. Your Tia Magdalena and I are counting on you to keep an eye on her. Make sure she fits in."

"And not get into any trouble."

"That's right. I have to go. The baby's crying."

"Okay, give my sobrino a kiss for me. Te amo Mami. (I love you Mommy.) Adios!"

The line went died.

"What was that about?"

The question came from Dwayne Robertson, one of Luis' friends and teammates.

"Turns out you guys will finally get to met one of my cousins."

"Which one? Portia?"

"Nah Kenny. Portia's too young. My cousin Emilia."

The group was confused still.

"The one that sings."

Realization dawned on the faces of some but others still had no idea who he was talking about.

"Don't you have two cousins that sing?" Jesse Hall asked.

"Yeah, but only one of them is actually studying it. That would be Mili."

"I thought you said her name was Emilia?" Dwayne asked him.

"It's a nickname Cowboy."

A small sheepish smile formed on the cowboy's face.

"Sorry. Anyway, tell us more about her."

"She's the family talent. Whenever the family has some kind of get-together they always try to make Mili sing. She gets a little shy about it, like if she's put on the spot. But when it comes to being on a stage or competitions Mili has no stage fright whatsoever."

Dean Portman interrupted him.

"But is that all there is to your cousin or does she do more than just sing? No offense or nothing Mendoza."

"None taken. But she doesn't just sing. That just happens to be the thing that stands out about her. That and her being a smarty pants bookworm. Portia loves to tease Mili about that."

"Little sisters." piped in Julie Gaffney. "Can't live with them. Can't live without them."

"Ain't that the truth Cat Lady."

Everybody started laughing again.

"So what other things does she like?"

"Let's see," Luis scratched his chin to think for a moment. "Mils loves dancing, especially salsa. She likes listening to most kinds of music. Her all-tiime favorite song is 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen."

"A classic," cut in the Bash Brothers getting another round of giggles.

"Most movie genres will get her too. She's a sucker for anything with John Cuasak but the two she watches the most are 'Say Anything' and 'High Fidelity'. Loves pizza. Candy is the food to give her if she's in the middle of cramming for tests or but she has a major addiction for Junior Mints. Oh, and she drinks way too much coffee. She's my best friend and the sister I never had."

The look on Luis' face was one of pride and affection.

"Wow." Fulton Reed said. "You really love her don't you?"

"I'd lay down my own life for her. In a heartbeat. I'd do anything for Mili."

The mood started to get a little serious. Something needed to be done and fast to get the fun times rolling again. Just then someone's cell was going off. It was Luis' again.

"Hello? Mili! How's my favorite girl?"

"I'm good cousin. What about you? How's that school of yours treating you?"

"Everything's good here baby. How are you? Nervous about next week?"

He could hear her laughter on the other end. That laughter was enough to put a smile back on his face.

"Mili, hold on a sec. Ducks, say hi to my cousin Mili."

He turned the cell phone so that she could hear them through the receiver. She was still laughing when he came back on the line.

"Luis, I can't wait to meet them. They sound like a fun group."

"They are Mils. They can't wait to meet you either. Were your ears burning by any chance?"

"So it was you that was making them like that! Its' okay. There must have been lots of questions after Tia Pilar called to give you the good news. It's fine. Better to get them over with now instead of them bugging you all week and driving you crazy. Anyway, I was gonna ask if there was anything you wanted me to bring you from home that you might need."

"Nothing important that I might need. But now that you mention it, go through my cds and see if you can find me some good salsa music."

"Yay! The great Luis Mendoza is granting little old me permission to touch his precious cd collection."

"Muy chistosa Emilia. (Very funny Emilia.)"

"Primo, relax. I was just kidding. I have to go. Tia Pili needs me to look after the baby. I'll tell him his Tio Luis sends him a kiss."

"Okay Mili. I'll talk to you later. Email or text me the flight info so I can meet you at the airport."

"Okay. I'll do that when the baby takes a nap. Love you primo. Hasta luego."

"Bye Mili. I love you too."

"Aww. How cute."

"Shut up guys. Like I said, she's like my sister."

"Don't listen to the boys Luis." Connie Moreau told him. "I think it's' really sweet."

"Thanks Cons."

"Anytime."

* * *

_One week later…_

The airport was packed. People getting on planes going somewhere. People getting off planes. Luis Mendoza stood nervous by the gate waiting for the plane coming in from Miami.

"How long has it been since you last saw her?"

"What?" he asked his companion. "Oh, since the middle of summer. She had to go to some music camp in the middle of July and I left Miami before she came home. But we talk everyday either through the cell or internet. By the way, thanks for coming with me Tammy. Goldberg's car was too little to fit all of her stuff in it. And I know Fulton wouldn't let me drive his truck."

Tammy Duncan, one of the girls on the Ducks and one of the team's figure skaters, laughed at his comment.

"Don't mention it. That thing is like his baby. Only let's Portman or one of us girls drive it. He would've driven you himself but he had that test to study for and Julie wasn't gonna let him off of helping them study."

Tammy looked at her watch. "What time does the flight get in?"

Luis looked down at the paper with the information he needed.

"Should be any minute now. Mili said eleven thirty. And the board says the plane's on time."

The two teenages waited on nearby chairs. Half an hour passed when they heard the flight number they were waiting on.

"What does she look like?"

"The last time I saw Mili she had medium brownish hair. Might've been straight or curly. Don't really remember. Not too tall but not too short either. Five foot two or three. Cute little chubby girl with a round face."

Tammy saw a girl motioning to Luis when he wasn't looking. She put her finger to her lips signaling to Tammy not to say anything. Luis turned his back for two seconds to scan the people that had passed by them. Then he felt a pair of hands cover his eyes.

"Hola primito."

Luis unmoved his eyes, spun around and gathered the girl in his arms.

"Mili!" he said twirling her around. "I've missed you."

"Me too." She smiled at Luis and the girl that was with him. "Hi, I'm Emilia but please call me Mili. You can also call me Mils or Em." She stuck her hand out to the other girl. "You must be Connie, Julie or Tammy. right?"

"Tammy. Nice to finally meet you. We've heard a lot about you."

"Same here. The Ducks are all Luis talks about when he's home. Well, that and the girls he's met at school."

They all laughed before heading to the baggage claim. They made small talk while waiting for the bags to come around the carrousel.

"So what grade are you in Mils?"

"The same as everyone else. Sophomore. Our moms were pregnant together. So we were practically raised like brother and sister instead of cousins."

"That is too cute." Tammy saw the look forming on Luis' face. "Don't worry Mendoza, your rep won't be in danger." She turned back to Mili who was getting the last of her bags off the carroesel. "You feel like getting pizza after we drop your bags off at school? I'm sure everyone else will be waiting to meet you."

"Sure. But I'll have to go straight to the Dean's office as soon as I get to campus so I can register for classes and find out where I'll be living." She adjusted the strap on her backpack while her, Tammy and Luis each picked up a suitcase to take to the car. "Let's go."

* * *

**Okay, I'm gonna leave it there for now. Before I forget, I don't own Queen or John Cuasak. I also don't own the movies 'Say Anything' or 'High Fidelity' or the song 'Bohemian Rapsody'. Feedback would be wonderful but if you don't want to leave it I won't force you. Hope you liked this chapter.**


	2. Meetings

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks or any members of the Varsity team that show up here. They all belong to Disney. I only own my original characters.**

**Author's Note: Just wanted to thank those of you who read and reviewed. Props for the title go to afta4ever. Any thoughts and text/email/im/voice messages will be in single quotes. Enjoy the chapter :-p**

**Chapter Two: Meetings**

The forty-five minute drive from the airport to the Eden Hall campus was all but boring. The three teenagers were laughing and joking from the moment they packed up the pickup and got into the cab.

"I can't believe I didn't hear about this when you came back to Miami."

"Well, I would've but I had forgotten the freezing Varsity's clothes with nitrogen story completely. Luckily the girls were able to tell Tammy all about our antics." Luis said defensively. "Now the fire ant story was more memorable. Which reminds me, did I ever tell you that one Mili?"

"Yeah, you did."

Her laughter was infectious.

"Yeah, I remember the girls telling me that one too." Tammy said while she parked in front of the Administration building. "I can't believe how ya'll were able to pull that one off without a hitch."

"Tell me about it."

"I'd love to hear more stories but I have to go meet the Dean of Students. Luis, can you just take my stuff to your dorm and I'll call you when I find out my room assignment?"

"Of course. You sure you don't want me to go in with you?"

Mili shook her head.

"Gracias de todas manedas. (Thanks anyway.)"

She gave him a quick hug and kiss to the cheek and said good-bye to him and Tammy over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs to the double doors.

* * *

The hallway was mostly empty except for a few students here and there. The girl dressed in a simple pair of jeans and t-shirt under her denim jacket looked a little lost as she passed several doors a piece of paper in her hand.

"Can I help you find something babe?"

The male voice asking her sounded quite menacingly. This guy was tall, at least taller than her.

So was his friend. And both of them seemed to give her a bad vibe.

"No thanks, I'm okay." She said trying to get away from them. "Could you please just leave me alone?"

The girl tried not to show her aggressors any fear. She knew that there could be more trouble if they could tell just how much their presence really scared her.

"A pretty little thing like yourself." his friend spoke up. "Not a smart thing to walk around here by yourself. Some bad people could try to take advantage of you. We wouldn't want that now would we?"

'Porque le dije que no a la oferta de mi primo? (Why did I tell my cousin no on the offer?)'

She looked each way silently praying that somebody, anybody, would be coming down the corridor. Or that maybe she could find a way to get rid of these two punks that were bothering her.

"Is there something going on here?"

The voice of a woman in her mid to late 30s or 40s came out of a nearby office.

"No ma'am, Mrs. Ferris."

"Then I suggest you leave that young lady alone. Unless you'd both like to spend time in detention for being somewhere other than practice without passes?"

With this new threat, the boys turned to leave.

"Gracias señora. Muchas gracias. (Thank you ma'am. Thank you so very much.)"

The woman cast a warm, inviting smile even though she had a concerned look in her eyes.

"You must be Emilia. We've been expecting you."

Mili quickly entered the office before there was a chance that her aggressors came back.

* * *

"Julie, my brain is tired. Can't we take a break?"

The blonde looked at her two friends as they tried to get out off studying for the upcoming test.

"No. if you had paid attention in class then I wouldn't be here helping the two of you with this poetry."

"But I hate poems."

Julie Gaffney had been listening to Dean Portman complain about the material they were going over for the past half hour while his roommate Fulton Reed was slowly falling asleep trying to nap during the study session.

"Fult, wake your lazy ass up!"

"Five more minutes Ma."

"FULTON DANIEL REED!"

"Dude, do you gotta start acting all maternal and use my full name? I'm up already."

Laughter was heard throughout the room and hallway as a crash was heard across the way.

"What the Hell was that?" Portman asked before opening the door. "It sounded like it came from Mendoza's room."

Sure enough, in the middle of the hallway stood Luis Mendoza and Tammy Duncan with the bags that Mili had left in the truck as they dropped her off at the main building.

"A little help please."

"Checking in?" Julie asked trying to hide a giggle at the sight in front of her. "Luis I have to hand it to you. Pink is definitely your color. But I'd rethink the flower pattern."

"Shut up Cat Lady. Mili asked me for a favor. Unless you'd like to store her bags in your room till she gets her dorm assignment, either be quiet or help."

Fulton was the first to grab a suitcase helping Luis with the door while Julie grabbed another bag which possible held a laptop and Portman just watched with amusement from the doorway.

"So when do we get to meet her?"

"After she's all registered and calls my cell. We'll all go for pizza after we get her stuff to her room. I don't know where they'll assign her. I was actually hoping it'd be with the girls since they've got one of the few four person rooms. If not, then she might get put with some complete stranger. And it would be harder for me to do what my mom and Tia Magda asked of me."

The room got a little quiet at the expression on the Latin boy's face.

"You can't babysit her 24/7 man."

"I know Portman. I just can't shake this feeling I've had since Mils went to go meet with Buckley."

"You mean like the way that twins have that weird ESP thing?"

Luis nodded his head.

"Do you think it's from being raised so close together?"

Luis looked at Tammy.

"Exactly because of that. You pay way too much attention Duncan."

The figure skater smiled.

"I try."

Laughter once again erupted within the small group.

* * *

"Scooter! Wait up!"

The blonde boy in question stopped walking long enough for his two teammates to catch up.

"Riley, Cole. What are you butt wipes up to? More than likely no good."

One of them let out an evil chuckle.

"We almost got busted for running around the halls instead of going to practice. But more importantly, we found some fresh meat wandering the halls."

Rick Riley and Biff Cole were laughing at the memory from a few minutes ago.

"Would've had her too if that old bag of bones that works for Buckley hadn't come along."

Scooter gave both of them disappointing looks.

"When are you two gonna grow up? You probably scared the poor thing."

"Anyway, I get dibs on her."

"Rick, why do you always have to call dibs? Give someone else a break."

"Like who Biff? Like you?"

Cole smiled.

"That would be cool. Besides, I thought you hated when the girl has meat on her bones."

"Only when they're experience. And I can tell when they're not experience."

Scooter looked at the two boys with alarming eyes, which neither saw.

"I gotta go."

With that, he ran off before either of his companions could catch up with him.

After being sure that he wasn't being followed, Scooter headed straight for the Dean's office to speak with Mrs. Ferris to inquire about the earlier encounter.

* * *

"I hope your schedule is to your liking. We tried to place you in as many classes with Mr. Mendoza as possible while trying to place you in as many music classes as well."

"Thank you Dean Buckley. I'm sure that my classes will be fine. As long as the workshop class I requested is on there, I shouldn't have any problems."

"Very well then, Mrs. Ferris will have someone take you to the Housing Director's office to get your dorm assignment. It was a pleasure meeting you Emilia. I hope your time here at Eden Hall will be a pleasant one."

"Thank you Dean Buckley. I appreciate the opportunity that Eden Hall has given me. I'll do my best to make the school proud."

"I'm sure you will. The new opera program in the Fine Arts Department is lucky to have you."

The girl blushed at the comment.

"Thank you again, for everything."

With that, Mili shook the elderly man's hand and left the room.

"Don't worry Mrs. Ferris, I'll make sure they don't bother her."

"Mrs. Ferris," Mili said as she entered the reception area. "Dean Buckley said you'd have someone take me to the Housing Director's office."

The woman who had earlier been her savior during her "meeting" with the two boys with red letterman jackets was seated at her desk. A tall blonde boy was standing off to the side.

"Yes, they're already expecting you." She turned to Scooter. "Would you be a dear and walk young Emilia down there?"

"Sure thing Mrs. Ferris."

The two teens left the main office and walked down the long corridor.

"I'm Scott by the way. But everyone calls me Scooter."

His hand was outstretched.

"Emilia, but everyone either calls me Mili, Mils or Em."

She took his outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you Em. Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Did you happen to have a run-in with a couple of guys wearing jackets like mine?"

Scooter noticed the uneasy look on Mili's face.

"Yeah, just before I went into the main office. It was actually the secretary that got them to leave me alone. Why do you ask?"

"I know them and they were talking about you. Just thought you should know. It might be better if you didn't walk around campus by yourself. At all."

'Este chavo no es tan malo. Pero tendre que tendar mucho cuidado con sus amigitos. (This guy's not bad. But I'm gonna have to be really careful to avoid his little friends.)'

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Okay. Well, here we are. Do you want me to wait for you or something? Or is someone waiting on you?"

"I have a cousin here at school. I'm supposed to call him as soon as I'm done."

"Okay. I'd suggest you don't leave the office until he gets here." Scooter said before turning. "Em, if you ever need a friend, just ask and I'll be there."

He took out a piece of paper and wrote down something then handed it to her.

"Same goes if you need any help avoiding those two idiots you already met."

She put the paper in her pocket before reaching for the door knob.

"Thanks again Scooter. I appreciate it. Bye."

Then they went their separate ways.

* * *

_Meanwhile in the dorms…_

The room was a little messy. A pair of hockey bags sat piled up on one corner. Papers and textbooks were all over the desk. There was some clothes on the floor. And in the middle of the room was one frantic Luis Mendoza trying to clean it up while his cousin's belongings sat on his newly made bed.

"Where's the fire?"

The voice came from the doorway of his room.

"Huh? Oh, just don't want her to see how messy I am when she's not around to keep me in check."

"The way you talk about her, seems like you're a little scared of her."

"No way dude, just of our mothers."

"You feeling better about that feeling you had earlier?"

Luis thought about it for a second before answering.

"Actually, I think so. It's not completely gone but it's not as bad as it was before."

"It's obvious that you're protective of her. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing man."

"Do you think that Riley and Cole will try to mess with her once they see her and find out she's related to you? You know how those pricks can be."

The fear in Luis' eyes flashed but didn't leave.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about. Especially with Riley considering I did humiliate the guy by stealing his woman."

They laughed at the memory of Luis making out with Rick Riley's ex-girlfriend at the JV/Varsity showdown the year before. Just then Luis' cell phone went off signaling he had a text message waiting.

'Ya estoy lista. Puedes venir por mi? (I'm ready. Can you come get me?)'

He started typing into his cell.

'Ya voy en camino. (I'm on my way.)'

He got a smiley face reply.

'Where are you?'

'Housing Office.'

'Kay. Stay put.'

'I will.'

"I'll see you later dude. By the way, Tammy's got your keys and I filled the tank with gas."

"Don't worry about it Mendoza."

"Nah, it was the least I could do to repay the favor. Thanks again for letting me use the pickup."

"Anytime man. See you in a while."

With that, Fulton left Luis to collect his cousin while he went in search of Tammy and his car keys.

* * *

_Later that afternoon_

"Mili, did you have to bring all of these things with your bags? Couldn't you have had some of it shipped?"

"And miss seeing you squirm while trying to haul my stuff around the dorms?"

The smile on her face was a tiny bit devilish.

"It's not that far, just down the hall from you. I don't know what you're complaining about. We could've gone in shifts or gotten someone to help."

"Yeah Luis. Then we could've met your cousin much sooner."

"Thanks a lot guys."

The two boys grabbed some of the stuff that Luis and Mili were transporting to her room.

"By the way, I'm Greg Goldberg."

"And I'm Les Averman."

"Nice to meet you. Emilia Mendoza."

The two newcomers shook hands with the young woman.

"Where to?"

"Down the hall. It's the one in the corner."

"So you're rooming with the girls. Cool."

'Yeah it is guys cause I'll be able to sleep at night knowing she'll be safe there.' Luis thought.

"Hold on guys. I need to get my key out."

"DEAN PORTMAN! WAKE YOUR LAZY ASS UP!"

"Dang Jules, I doze off for five seconds and you go postal. What the Hell?"

The four standing in the hall couldn't help laughing.

"Someone's not having a very good study session."

"Are things always like this?"

"Nah, just when Julie is stressing about a test and has to help someone else study at the same time."

"Thank goodness for chocolate." Mili thought out loud. "Luis, did you get my chocolate supply? Mama wouldn't let me pack any for fear that I'd eat it on the plane."

Luis chuckled at the question.

"In a storage box in my closet. I got it yesterday when we went to the store."

"Yeah, he wasn't kidding about the Junior Mints." Averman spoke up. "I just don't get how anyone could be addicted to Junior Mints."

The shouting inside the room stopped.

"Should we just go in? or is it safer to knock first?"

"Knock." came the response from all three boys.

They all wait patiently for someone to answer the door.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm your new roommate. We just wanted to make sure it was safe to come in and make sure you weren't killing each other."

Julie's face turned a couple shades of red.

"Sorry, you must've heard me yelling at Portman from down the hall. Come on in. I'm Julie by the way."

"Emilia. Nice to meet you guys." Mili said as she and the boys holding her things entered the room. "Where should I park?"

"By the window good for you? If not , one of us can switch with you if you want when Tammy and Connie get back."

"The window's fine. As long as I have a place to put my chocolate stash and the rest of my junk it'll be all good."

The group laughed at her comment.

"Luis, when can we eat? The food on the plane sucked."

"It depends. Do you wanna unpack then get lunch? Or do you wanna get lunch then unpack?"

"Lunch." She said. "I want pizza. A large one."

"All by yourself?" Portman asked while she nodded. "Whatchya getting?"

"Pepperoni, Canadian bacon, Italian sausage, mushroom, olives, and lots of chasse."

Portman grinned.

"My kind of girl. Luis, she'll fit in with us Bashes just fine." He turned back to Mili. "Mind if we share your pizza. That way we can just get an extra-extra-large."

"No problem with me. Just as long as you guys don't get onions or peppers."

They all laughed and went to find the rest of the ducks.

* * *

**I think I'll leave it here for now. It was getting kinda long. I have a question for everyone reading this. Who would you guys like Mili to be paired up with? There six options, seven if everyone wants it to be an original character. The six choices are: Fulton Reed, Dwayne Robertson, Dean Portman, Greg Goldberg, Les Averman and Scooter (whose last name is either Vanderbuilt or Saunders). Let me know what ya'll think. Hope you enjoyed it.**


	3. A Way Around the Danger

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks or any members of the Varsity team that show up here. They all belong to Disney. I only own my original characters.**

**Author's Note: Just wanted to thank those of you who read and reviewed. It really means a lot that this story is accepted by readers in the fandom. Any thoughts and text/email/im/voice messages will be in single quotes. Any flashbacks are in italics. Enjoy the chapter :-p**

**Chapter Three: A Way Around the Danger**

The afternoon was a good one for one Emilia Mendoza. At least it made her forget about the bad encounter she had as soon as she set foot on campus.

"_A pretty little thing like yourself."_

The way that guy talked to her, the comments he made.

"_Some bad people could try to take advantage of you. We wouldn't want that now would we?"_

She didn't like them one bit.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

The voice talking to her was of her roommate Connie Moreau.

"Huh? Oh, just thinking about something that happened earlier. No big deal."

The other girl had a concerned look on her face.

"You sure? You can tell me or any of the other Ducks."

Mili sighed, debating whether or not to say anything.

"You promise not to tell Luis?"

"It depends."

"Some guy said something to me and I don't know how I should've taken it."

"What did he say?"

"It wasn't so much what was said, just _how_ the guy said it."

"Okay. I don't know what to tell you Em. Again, what did he say?"

"Told me that a pretty thing like me shouldn't be walking around by myself."

"Let me guess. Tall guy, at least taller than you. Obnoxious. Had a red Varsity jacket. Had a friend with him just as obnoxious wearing the same jacket."

Mili nodded her head making her reddish brown curls bounce.

"How'd you know?"

"Said something along the same lines to me and Jules last year. Maybe the same with Tammy when she transferred in."

"I want to tell my cousin but I don't want to scare him." Mili said biting her bottom lip. "I know he had problems with this one team last year and this one guy in particular. I don't want to chance it being the same guy. I know that would make him more scared."

"He really frightened you didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did. Both of them."

Connie was debating something in her own head.

'Should I ask her? I don't wanna go ask Luis. He'd kill me or at least try to go after Riley or Cole for having those thoughts about her. Especially if he finds out about their little meeting in the halls.'

"What are you thinking about?"

"Whether to ask you something really personal or not."

"Figured as much. It has to do with that guy doesn't it?"

Connie nodded.

"See, the thing is Riley has a thing for 'welcoming' new girls. He usually goes for blondes and girls who are built. But every once in a while, he'll make an exception."

The wheels of realization started turning in Mili's head.

"You mean girls who have never, you know."

Connie nodded her head.

"You need to talk to your cousin. He worries about you. I'm sure if he knew, he'd find a way to protect you."

"You're right. What about this other guy who had a similar jacket. I think his name was Scott or something."

"You mean Scooter?"

"Yeah, he was in Buckley's office when I was headed to Housing. Is he a good guy or is he bad like Riley?"

"No, he's actually one of the few guys on Varsity that's nice. He kind of dated Julie for a couple of weeks last year but they didn't work out. They figured they were better off as just friends." Connie said while rebraidiing her hair. "We hang out with him every now and then."

Mili let out a sigh of relief.

"He said he'd try to help with Cole and Riley."

"Then trust him. Just don't let those two get to you. Go talk to Luis."

Mili went back to putting clothes in the closet before pulling out a few cds out of a container.

"I'll be back. Gotta go get my chocolate. Figure I'll kill three birds with one stone and take these cds to him while we talk."

The girls waved at each other before the door closed.

* * *

"I'm telling you Rick, the girl isn't your type. She's obviously on scholarship. And you hate scholarship."

"How would you know that Scooter."

'Crap, gotta cover my tracks.'

"Because you said so. I don't know. Maybe Cole said it."

"Whatever." Rick told his teammate. "But I can tell she's untouched. I got that vibe when I sensed that she was getting scared. I don't really like them when they're not skinny but for a prize like that, I can overlook it."

'That's it, I gotta warn Em. If only I knew her cousin's name.'

The ringing of a cell phone interrupted them.

"Is that your quarter or mine." Rick asked.

"Mine. Hold on." He said opening the phone. "Hello?"

"Scooter? It's Julie."

"Hey Jules, what's up?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you still had those notes from when you took sophomore English."

'Great. I found a way to escape Rick.'

"Sure. Can you hold on a minute?"

"Yeah."

"I've got to go. See you around Riley."

With that he left the room.

"Which notes did you need? Frost or Shakespeare?"

"Actually, I need whatever you have. I was trying to study earlier with the Bashes and you know how that can go."

Scooter laughed at this.

"Yeah, I'll see what I can find. See you in a bit."

"Scooter you are a life saver."

"Bye Julie."

* * *

The hallway in the dorms was quiet. Everyone else living on the floor was studying, sleeping or somewhere else.

Mili was so busy going through the pile of cds in her hand that she didn't pay attention to the patch of carpet sticking up from the floor. Before she could catch her footing, she slipped and everything in her hands fell to the floor.

"Careful now."

There was a pair of strong hands catching her before she could fall.

"You okay?"

The voice didn't seem familiar to her. There had been quite a few people she met throughout the day but this one was soft and gentle with an accent.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks."

Both kneeled down to collect the fallen items.

"You must be new here, right."

"Um hum. Just transferred today."

"My name's Dwayne Robertson. Most folks round here call me Tex or Cowboy."

"You must know my cousin. Luis Mendoza?"

"He's a teammate of mine. Mentioned you'd be joining us Ducks here at Eden. He told us your name and all but I seem to have forgotten. Sorry."

'Que lindo es. Debe ser el niño timido de Austin. (Oh how sweet is he? He must be the shy boy from Austin.)'

"Don't worry about it. The name's Emilia, by the way."

"It was nice meeting you. Sorry I wasn't there to help welcome you properly at lunch. Anyway, I have to get to the library before it closes. Need to return a book before curfew. We can talk later if you want. Get to know each other better, that's if you want."

"I'd like that. Bye Cowboy."

"Bye Emmy."

'All these boys knowing my cousin. Could be easy to be protected from those two apeholes.'

She walked up to the door she was looking for and knocked.

"Hey, just the boy I was looking for."

"I would hope so. A little early to start crushing on my friends."

"Shut up Luis. I actually need to talk to you about something. It's pretty important."

He let out a huffy breathe.

"You met Riley already, didn't you?" he asked her. "What did he do?"

"Nothing. Just said that a pretty little think like me shouldn't be out and about alone."

"Lo sabía. Tenía una sensacíon que algo te pasaba. (I knew it. I had a feeling that something was happening to you.)"

"Are you mad at me?"

Luis hugged his cousin.

"No mi niña. Preocupado. (No, my little one. Worried.)"

"What can we do?"

"I need to talk to the guys. Set up some kind of bodyguard system."

"Okay. Should I be here when you talk to them? Or should I talk to the girls?"

"Now that you mention it, it might be better to have a team meeting. I'll round up the guys. They should all be around somewhere."

"Okay. I almost forgot, here's the stuff you asked for."

Luis took the cds out of Mili's hands and put them on his desk.

"Thanks. We'll worry about those later."

They both walked out in search of everybody else.

* * *

Luis looked all over the dorms for Charlie Conway and the other members of their hockey team. The girls were easy to find. Connie and Tammy were both in their room while Julie was in the hallway talking to somebody.

"Cat Lady, there you are. We're having a team meeting in my room." He took notice of who Julie was speaking with. "Hey there Saunders."

(A/N: I've decided that Scooter's last name will be Saunders.)

"Hey there Mendoza. What's shaking?"

"Not much. Just something that needs taking care of."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain cute little girl with reddish brown curls and a certain older guy would it?"

Both Julie's and Luis' jaws dropped.

"You must be Em's cousin."

"How do you know her?"

"Happened to be in Buckley's office when she had to go to Housing. Ferris asked me to walk her."

"You need to come with us to the meeting. I'm sure that punk already started bragging about his 'dibs'."

The alarming look was back in Scooter's eyes.

"I guess it was a good thing I needed those notes from you."

"Sure was Gaffney."

Luckily for the group of teenagers there was no indoor curfew on Fridays and Saturdays. As long as they were inside the building, there was no problem.

"I need to find the Bashes. Jules, bring your big white board with you. We might need it to strategize."

"Got it."

She started walking towards their room.

"Hold on a sec, take this to Mils."

He handed her a couple of boxes of the candy his cousin cherished.

"Should help calm her nerves. Don't worry, they won't make her hyper. Just make sure she doesn't drink coffee with them. Otherwise we'll have another Averman on our hands."

Julie was about to go into the room when Luis stopped her.

"Tell Mils to bring her schedule. And tell her I said it'll be okay."

"Will do."

* * *

_Half an hour later…_

Everybody was camped out in Luis and Jesse's room.

'Here goes nothing.'

"All right Speedster. We're all here. What's going on?"

"I'll tell you Banksie as soon as everyone settles down." The room got quiet fast. "It seems we have a situation. With Riley."

Charlie was the first to speak up. "Is he trying to start another prank war?"

"No, he isn't Captain Duck."

Charlie was about to speak again.

"Apparently he's called 'dibs' on me."

Everyone looked at Mili. Her voice was soft at first, almost fragile.

"Oh no."

Tammy, who was sitting next to her, put her arms around the terrified girl.

"We'll figure this out."

The enforces of the team sat in the corner talking amongst themselves.

"That explains the feeling he had earlier."

"Sure does. Tammy said they were raised like siblings. Kinda like me, Connie and Averman. Before we moved to Stillwater that is."

"So do we go kick Riley's butt or wait for Luis to give the order?"

"I say we wait. More than likely he'll pull the bodyguard move before the hitman move."

"Gotchya bro."

"Cons said that she's kind of freaked out about the whole thing. Said she wouldn't touch the Juniors that Luis sent her with Julie."

"Maybe she knows that he tried to pull the same spit with the three of them. Good thing Conway told his baby sister not to take the scholarship till next year. Gabriella didn't wanna stay home but when Casey found out what kind of danger her virtue would be in, she got Bombay to let the board to agree on a deference."

"Speaking of which, when do the adoptions become final?"

"Charlie said that as soon as Bombay finds their deadbeat dad and gets him to sign it'll be a done deal. They're working on it as a birthday present for Ella."

"Yeah, that would be a sweet present. He's the only father she's ever known anyway."

They both perked up when Tammy elbowed Fulton in the ribs.

"Okay, the only ones that have class near the music rooms are the Bashes since Portman has Graphic Arts and Fulton has Art History."

"And we all know that neither Riley or Cole will go near her then. Cole's too scared of Portman ever since he flipped him against the glass at the showdown."

"That was fun."

People laughed at this comment. Even Scooter was cracking up. Just then Scooter's phone was going off.

"Crap. Cole's calling me."

Everybody shut up and Mili tensed up.

"What do you want Biff?"

"Where are you? I've been waiting for you for over an hour."

"Hanging out with some friends."

"You mean those Ducks, right? Whose room are you in? I'll come get you."

"Now's not a good time. I'm helping them study for a test."

He motioned for someone to turn the board around and took the pen from Luis and started writing some stuff about English literature.

Then he pointed to Mili then the closet.

"I'm actually in Mendoza's dorm. We're going over some Shakespeare. And I know just how much you hate Shakespeare."

"I don't care. I'm coming anyway to get you. It's time you stopped associating with that scholarship trash."

"Whatever. I don't care what you think."

That's when he shut the phone.

"Is she safe in there? I didn't want to chance him seeing her. Then it would get back to Rick."

"Good idea."

* * *

_Meanwhile in the closet…_

Mili was listening to Scooter's end of the phone call while hiding from Cole.

'He really is a good guy. I'm glad he's on our side on not those pricks.'

She couldn't help but think about what he told her earlier.

"_Em, if you ever need a friend, just ask and I'll be there."_

_He took out a piece of paper and wrote down something then handed it to her._

"_Same goes if you need any help avoiding those two idiots you already met."_

Then the door opening caught her attention.

'Please let him leave soon. I don't know how long I can stay in here. I'll be tempted to eat my box of chocolate that I brought from my room. Then he'll smell it and find me here.'

Mili didn't have to wait long.

"Bye Scooter. Thanks for the help. And the notes."

'Thank goodness for Julie and those notes. It was the perfect cover.'

"Anytime. If you need any more help just give me a call."

Then the two older boys were gone. Everybody wait a minute or two before opening the closet door.

"You okay Emmy?"

"I'm okay now that the apehole is gone. Thanks Gregie."

As soon as Goldberg and ken moved out of her way, Mili ran into Luis' waiting arms.

"I promise you they won't hurt you with their 'dibs'. I'm make sure of it."

* * *

**Wow, another chapter in a matter of days. I must be on a roll. So far I've got one vote for Dwayne, one for Fulton and two for Portman. Ironically one of those votes came with Fulton's. I think I'll wait a few chapters before I really consider any romance as far as Miss Mendoza is concerned. Hope you liked this chapter. By the way, I don't own the line "Is that your quarter or mine?" It's from 'Jerry Maguire', which I also don't own.**


	4. Confrontations and Conflicts, Part One

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own the Mighty Ducks or any members of the Varsity team that show up here. They all belong to Disney. I only own my original characters. I also don't own any movies, bands or lyrics mentioned.**

**Author's Note:**** Just wanted to thank those of you who read and reviewed. It really means a lot that this story is accepted by readers in the fandom. Any thoughts and text/email/im/voice messages will be in single quotes. Any flashbacks are in italics. Enjoy the chapter :-p**

**Chapter Four: Confrontations and Conflicts, Part One**

_Monday morning – Gym class_

"Students, today we will be starting a new program." the gym teacher stated. "We will be starting this quarter period learning Latin and ballroom dancing. Why, I do not know. We will touch on just a few dances. We will learn the foxtrop, salsa, and cha-cha. That means three weeks on each dance."

The students either groaned or made noises of excitement at the mention of the dances.

"Before I forget, we have a new student, Emilia Mendoza. I expect all of you to treat Miss Mendoza with the upmost respect. That goes especially for you Mr. Cole."

"Yes, ma'am, Coach Wytt."

'Oh no, why did HE have to be in MY gym class? Lucky for me they don't make us wear those skimply little shorts as part of the uniform that some schools make the girls wear.'

Mili kept feeling a pair of eyes on her. She tried hiding in front of someone taller than her but it didn't seem to work as well as she liked.

'Boy is Rick gonna be mad he has History this period. Oh well, his loss is my gain.'

"We'll start tomorrow with salsa. Today we'll assign partners. I guess you can have a free period." she told the class. "If any of you already know how to dance salsa, I'll consider giving you extra credit for helping your fellow classmates. I'll be calling students alphabetically to pick numbers out of a bag. Whoever your are paired with will be your partner for the whole quarter. Changes can and will only be made at my discretion. If you have a problem, either work it out or come see me. I will not stand for fighting in my gym."

'Okay Mils, relax. So what if that idiot keeps looking at you like a piece of meat. At least some of Ducks are here with you.'

"Hey Mili, how's it going?"

"It's okay. Adam, right?"

The boy nodded.

"Your cousin said that salsa was supposed to be your specialty." She nodded. "Think you can show me something?"

"What do you wanna learn?"

"Well, I know a couple of the foot things, like the box step. I just don't know if I've got them down right."

"Ads, I think your confusing salsa and foxtrot. The salsa has a basic marching step to it, not a box. Hold on, we need some music if I'm gonna show you properly."

Mili dug into her bag for a mix cd that she uses to pacetice her salsa. She then walked over to the sound system connected to the wall of the gymnasium.

"Does anyone know how to work this thing?"

A boy about the same height as Mili came up to her.

"Which track do you want it on?"

"Number six. Thanks,"

"Zander."

Mili smilied at the boy giving her his hand.

"Mili, nice to meet you. Thanks again."

She walked back to Adam who was not too far away from the sound system.

"Okay Ads, normally the boy leads. But since I'm the teacher here, I'll have to lead. Put one hand here," she instructed him to place a hand on the small of her back. "and the other hand goes here." She instructed him on how to hold the other arm. "Now we're going to start on my left, your right. We'll start with the forward movement then go backwards from there."

This went on for a couple of songs while members of the class were watching the private lesson until the coach had called Mili over to pick her number out of the bag. Lucky for her, Cole was already partnered with one of the cheerleaders who happened to be in the class.

"She's not bad." One of them commented as they were huddled off to the side. "She actually looked like a professional dancer helping Banks a minute ago."

"That fat little thing? Yeah right."

"What's the matter Biff?" adam asked coming up behind them. "Scared that some little girl will be better at something than you?"

"You wish Banks."

'He's probably just mad that Em isn't his partner. If only Luis could be here to see the way Biff Cole was looking at his cousin.'

"Whatever you say Biff. Whatever you say."

'Oh yeah, he's ticked.'

* * *

_Meanwhile in another class…_

The teacher in front of the classroom was going on and on about a movie that they would be watching that week in class. It was something the students didn't really care for.

"Averman. Yo, Averman."

A male voice was whispering trying to get the attention of the redhead.

"What do you want Emerson?"

"Did you see that new girl in the halls this morning? Kind of cute. A short chubby little thing. Maybe red or brown curls."

Les Averman knew exactly who Jake Emerson was talking about.

'What is it with all the jocks that happen to be jerks?'

"What about it?"

"Do you know if Rick Riley has already seen her?"

'Great, just great. Another guy that will try to pull the infamous dibs Riley started. Luis is gonna have to find a chastity belt for that cousin of his.' Les made a mental note to himself about the suggestion. 'Before you know it, every single jerk in this place is gonna want to claim her. Poor Em.'

"Don't bother asking. And stay away from her." He told the other boy. "She doesn't need to be bothered by guys like you."

He went back to ignoring him.

'I know the girl is pretty but all these jerks want is to be the first to get her in their bed. I'll have to let Luis know about Emerson. Can't have the poor girl find out on her own about this.'

"What's it to ya Aves? Don't tell me you want in on the action."

"She's a friend of mine. I know that if you go near her it'll be nothing but trouble."

"Figures you'd be friends with the new girl. Then again, fat and ugly do end up as friends."

'Now he's done it.'

"Take it back Emerson. Just because I basically said you were a jerk with bad intentions doesn't give you the right to lash out on someone who can't defend themselves against what you have to say about them."

"Sounds like someone needs a cold shower."

"I know you do. Just back off."

'Man this jerk is starting to piss me off.'

* * *

_Later that period in the gym…_

"Thanks for giving me some pointers Em. Luis said you loved to dance, but I had no idea how good you were at it."

"Thanks Adam. I'm just glad that Cole isn't my dance partner." She moved a curl away from her eyes. "Knowing him after just one meeting I can tell he'd try to get handsy while dancing."

"Who did you end up with anyways?"

"Come to think of it, I really don't know. I just hope it's someone I already know. It'd be kind of akward to have some guy who I don't even know with his hands all over me."

"You mean as opposed to me or Dwayne or one of the few Ducks in this class who you've known all

weekend?"

As if almost on cue, Dwayne Roberston came up besides them.

"Howdy Banksie, howdy Miss Emmy." He says tipping his hat at the two. "I can't believe how easy gym class is gonna be this quarter."

The other two teenagers nodded.

"I was just told that I'm the luckiest boy in our class."

"Why is that Cowboy?"

"Miss Emmy here is my dance partner."

"That'll be interesting to see."

"Yep indeed it is Adam. Although, I'm afraid that I have two left feet."

"It's no sweat. I'll make a dancer out of you before you know it." She took a swig of her bottled water. "I just hope the main classes aren't too hard."

"Nah, you'll do fine."

"Yeah, Banksie here is right. Only the advance classes are killer."

"Thanks a lot Cowboy, considering that three of my classes look like they'll be really hard."

"Like what?"

"One of my music classes for sure, which is my workshop. Not to mention that I have two periods of Foreign Languages."

Adam was stretching his arms over his head.

"You mean you're taking two languages courses."

He saw the girl nod. "Which ones?"

"French and Italkian."

"Why on Earth would you do that?"

"They're to help me with my announciation for my workshop class. Times like that is when I almost wish I didn't study opera."

"Bummer. At least most of your classes are with Luis."

"Yeah, thank goodness for that." She looked at the clock on the wall. "Speaking of which, we should get ready for next period. See you guys I a few minutes."

"Later Em."

* * *

_The hallways – lunchtime…_

"You should have seen her. All the guys in class were looking at her. I don't know what they saw in her though. She wasn't even that pretty."

"All the guys were looking at who, Mindy?"

"This new girl in mine and Cole's gym class. She was helping that little sophomore boy that was on Varsity with you last season, Ricky."

"First of all, don't call me that. Second, I could care less about Banks."

The cheerleader just stood there pouting at him.

"But Rick, you always liked it when I called you Ricky."

"Yeah, that was before you cheated on me with Mendoza. Obviously that little prick wasn't worth the trouble. And neither are you."

He walked away from the cheerleaders and went down the hallway towards the lunchroom. A head of curly reddish brown hair heading towards the girls' washroom caught his eye.

"Such a pretty girl." His voice made her turn where she stood, frozen in her tracks. "I thought I told you it wasn't safe to wander the halls alone."

He made a gesture to touch her face when a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Leave her alone Riley."

"What are you girls going to do about it? It's not like you can beat me up."

"They can't but we can."

Rick Riley turned around to see the Bash Brothers looking at him like he was their new punching bag. He looked three shades of scared and backed away.

"Thanks guys. I'm really glad that you got here when you did."

"Just be careful around that guy. Can you do that for us shorty?"

"I'll try. But it's kind of difficult when he's stalking your every move."

The girls shuddered at the thought.

"At least you don't have any classes with that scumbag."

"Yeah, but the other scumbag is another story."

"Don't remind me about gym class."

"What happened there?"

"The jerk kept looking at our little philly like she was a calf he wanted to rope."

Mili leaned her head against the wall with her eyes closed.

"Thanks a lot Robertson. See if I don't' step on your toes tomorrow."

Dwayne didn't know what to say to that.

"Shoudn't it be the other way around since you're the one that knows this salsa thing like the back of your hand?"

Mili sighed while the rest of the group started walking down the hall.

"Can we just go and get out of here? I don't want to chance running into Cole. It's bad enough to see him everyday in one of my classes. I don't need him drooling over me in the hallways too."

She started walking faster until she was running from her roommates and the rest of her friends. A familiar voice caught her attention.

"Que te paso mi niña? Quien te hizo enojar? (What's wrong little one? Who made you mad?)"

"Los babosos que son Riley y Cole. (The idiots that are Riley and Cole.)"

"What happened? Come on, we'll go get you some coffee. You need to eat lunch anyway."

Mili let Luis guide her to the cafeteria even though she really didn't want to go.

"Riley cornered me by myself on my way to the bathroom. The girls were with me but I got impatient and rounded the corner before they could catch up. Told me the same thing as the other day. The girls showed up with the Bashes, Dwayne and Goldberg. Riley got scared and took off. Dwayne reminded me about gym class. By the way, Cole's one of my classmates. But don't worry, he's not my dance partner. Robertson is. But I kept feeling as if he was looking at me the whole time. I got mad about remembering what went on in gym and then I left the rest of them. That's when you showed up."

Luis captured his cousin in a big bear hug.

"It'll be okay. As long as they don't try anything physical, it'll be okay."

He pulled back just a little to look at her. The worried expression in her eyes was enough to make him wish that he could protect her from harm at all costs. But he knew that was completely impossible.

"Mendoza, I thought I told you to stay away from my women from now on."

The voice was not one that Luis liked hearing.

"She's not your woman. Don't you dare go near her."

"Didn't you hear? Or are you just plain stupid Mendoza?" Rick asked then turned to his friends. "This guy always has to go for my women. First it was Mindy. Now this hot little number."

'Que estupido es este nino. Piensa que Luis me quiera como conquista. Si solo sabía que Luis y yo solo somos primos...peero eso no lo va ser que me déjà en paz. (What a stupid boy this guy is. He thinks Luis wants me as a conquest. If only he knew that Luis and I are cousins…but that won't make him leave me alone.)'

"Leave us alone." Mili told Rick from behind Luis, holding onto him. "Luis, tengo miedo. (Luis, I'm scared.)" she whispered into her cousin's ear. "Mucho miedo. (Really scared.)"

Cole made a move to grab Mili from behind.

"Come on sexy, show me some of those moves you were showing Banks in class. I bet you dance better in a horizontal position then you do standing up."

"Ew, get away from me."

"Maybe there's even enough of you to share."

"Don't come near me you sick pervert!"

"I believe the girl said she isn't interested Cole."

Biff Cole looked up surprised.

"Scooter, unless you're here to take part in the little party I have planned for this little girl, go away."

"I'm afraid I can't do that Biff. You know how much I hate violence, especially when it's the kind of violence that you're obviously trying to carry out."

"Always Varsity's goody two-shoes," Rick sneered. "just like that little angel on your shoulder when you're thinking of doing something bad."

Luis used this distraction to get Mili away from Cole.

"You need to run baby. Go find the Ducks. They shouldn't be too far away."

"Luis, no. I won't leave you."

"You have to. Don't worry about me. You're the one they want. Run till you find them and stay with them."

She tried to run but Rick got ahold of her before she could get far.

"Feisty, I like that in my women."

"Dejame! (Let me go!)"

"Suertala desgraciado! (Let go of her you son of a bitch!)"

"What did you just call me?"

"I believe he called you a piece of spit." A deep voice from behind Riley spoke up. "Either that or a son of a bitch. Now let the girl go."

As soon as Riley loosened his grip, Mili ran into Luis' arms.

"Estas bien mi niña? (Are you okay little one?)"

She moved her head from side to side silently telling him that she wasn't.

"It's okay mi niña. He won't touch you again. I promise."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep."

Her voice was soft, but tears could be heard in her voice.

"He won't stop till he gets what he wants. And what he wants is his stupid dibs that he feels he's entitled to."

The girls came up to the two cousins.

"Maybe we should take her back to the room." Julie suggested. "She doesn't look too well."

"It's okay Julie." Mili protested. "I'll be fine. I just need a minute or two to calm down."

The three girls led her to the nearest bathroom to spash some water on her face.

"Thanks man. I don't know what they would've done if you hadn't stepped in."

"Don't worry about it Luis. Your cousin's a nice girl. She doesn't deserve what they were trying to do. No girl deserves that kind of treatment."

"Ain't that the truth."

* * *

_Later that night…_

"The girls are trying to get Emmy to calm down a little more. Connie said she was still shook up." Goldberg was telling Kenny in the common room as Kenny worked on making a copy of his geometry notes for Mili.

"I'm not surprised. She seemed to be too scared to go down to dinner. Luis had to bring her something from Mickey's since she locked herself in after chasing Tammy out of the room."

"Poor girl." Goldberg sighed. "to be targeted like that by Riley. And by Cole too. Things like that make me glad that I don't have any sisters."

"You guys can stop worrying now."

Mili's voice made both boys look up.

"Didn't mean to interrupt you guys. Just came to see if you know where Luis went?"

"Nope. Did you try his cell?"

Mili nodded.

"It went straight to voicemail. I just hope he's not out by himself." She looked down at her feet. "It's okay, I'll check his room."

"Bye Em. Feel better."

"Thanks guys."

* * *

A knock on the door made Jesse Hall look up from his History book.

"Come in."

"Hi Jesse. Have you seen my cousin? He's not picking up his cell."

"He had to run an errand with Portman. He left his cell so it could charge. Said that if you came looking for him to have you call Portman's number."

"I don't have it yet."

Jesse handed her a slip of paper.

"Here, it's got all the cell numbers. The only one missing is mine but that's cause I had to change the number." He told her taking the paper from her then writing something on it befoer giving it back to her. "See, now you're the first to have the new number."

She laughed a little bit.

"I know something would have to make you laugh. Before I foget, Luis told me to give you this." he said handing her a book. "Said it would calm you down."

"Thanks Jesse. I'll let you get back to studying."

* * *

"I hate the fact that my little one has to share a class with that brainless prick."

"Tell me about it." Dean said driving down the road leading back from town to Eden Hall Academy. "I've been meaning to ask you about that. You always call Mils that."

"Oh, well our abuelo used to call her that and since I kept hearing it I thought that was her name. Just sort of stuck."

"Cute. No wonder Riley was getting mad at you two looking so close in the hall."

"So, do you think that Buckley will make her change class or do you think he'll pull Cole out of there?"

"I don't know man. But she's not safe with him in the same gym class. "

"I know that Portman. I just wish she didn't have to go through this."

"We all wish it man. I'll do my best to look out for her. All us guys will. But we need to get rid of Riley and Cole in order to make sure she's completely safe. And she needs to go to talk to Buckley for that."

"You know what's even more stupid about the incident in the halls? Riley actually thought I was after Mils. In the dirty sense of the meaning." He sighed and looked out the window. "The jerk doesn't even realize that the girl is my cousin."

"But I'm sure that he knows it by now. I'm pretty sure Cole realized this in class when Wytt introduced her. But then again, the dude is a total idiot."

"Probably. But that won't change things."

"Yeah. It might make things worse."

Portman's cell phone started ringing.

"I think it's her calling. Hello?"

"Hi Dean. Is Luis with you?"

"Yeah, he's right here. Hold on."

"Thanks"

"Mili? What's wrong mi niña?"

"Where are you?"

"On my way back to campus. Are you okay?"

"No, and I don't really know if I will be." She paused. "I'm going to see Buckley."

"When?"

"Right now. But I don't think I can do this alone."

"You won't have to. Stay in your room. Me and Portman will come get you when we get there."

"Okay. Te quiero primo."

"Yo tambien mi niña. (Me too little one.)"

"What's the game plan Mendoza?"

"Going to Buckley, ASAP. I just hope he doesn't side with those pricks."

* * *

Tammy Duncan sat across her dorm room. She had been thrown out by one of roommates around dinnertime. She was just hoping it was finally safe to go in.

"You know, if you sit there long enough, the door might just magically open itself."

"Very funny Moreau."

"You gonna go in?"

"I was thinking about it. But I don't want to be the one that gets their head bitten off because I scared her."

Both girls laughed at the mental picture they were getting of the possible scenario. That's when they heard a crash down the hall.

"What's wrong Les?"

"Luis. Gotta find Luis."

Tammy and Connie both got concerned at their friend's need to find their other teammate.

"Averman," Connie tried getting his attention. "slow down. Breathe. Now talk."

* * *

**Author's Note:**** Okay folks, this chapter was a tough one to write. It was so hard to get down that it ended up being super long. I figured that was too much for my loyal readers to take in at one time. So I decided to split it up. Let me know what you think. By the way, I've created a poll regarding a possible love interest. A couple of people have voiced their opinion but not much has been said. Please check it out (and vote). It should be posted on my profile. If it's not there, let me know.**


	5. Confrontations and Conflicts, Part Two

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own the Mighty Ducks or any members of the Varsity team that show up here. They all belong to Disney. I only own my original characters. I also don't own any movies, bands or lyrics mentioned.**

**Author's Note:**** Just to let you all know (in case you dind't already) that this is the second half of the previous chapter. As I mentioned in the Author's Note at the bottom of Chapter Four, it was getting a little too long. Hope you guys like it.**

**Chapter Five: Confrontations and Conflicts, Part Two**

Jake Emerson sat in the library hanging out with some members from the JV football team.

"I don't think you can get it done Jake." One of his cronies said. "I hear that Riley already called it."

"I couldn't give a shit. That girl will be mine."

"Do you actually want her? Or is this just about sticking it to Rick Riley?"

"I've got nothing against the guy. Just think it'll be fun to give him a run for his money. Maybe even beat him at is own game." He said leaning back in his chair. "And what better way to do it then to get the cherry before he can."

Noah Evans, a freshman limebacker, didn't understand why his captain was such a jerk. To try and get some girl in bed just because of mental warfare just didn't sit right with him.

"How do you even know that she is?"

"Trust me Noah. When you've been with as many girls as me and some of the other guys here, you tend to pick up on these things."

* * *

"I need to find Luis. I need to warn him. And Em."

The girls looked a bit panicked at mention of their new rommie. Just at that moment, Julie Gaffney approached the group huddled in the hallway in front of her room.

"Okay, what happened now?"

"Riley's not the only captain we need to worry about."

"WHAT?"

Luis Mendoza must have been madder than Hell because he practically shoved the redhead against the wall.

"Talk. Now."

"You know Jake Emerson, right?"

The speedster nodded his head.

"He was asking about Mils in class. Asking if Rick had already seen her."

"Emerson wants dibs on her too. Doesn't he?"

"Pretty much. Went as far as accusing me of "wanting in on the action" like all the other jerks in this school might."

Luis' expression went from that of anger to that of a dangerous man out for blood.

"That little prick. I'll kick his ass!"

The door opening made him react differently.

"Maybe I should just unaccept the scholarship and go home. It seems like it would be safer in Miami."

Luis's hardened face softened a bit.

"Don't do that. You always told me that studying opera was your dream. Don't give up on your dream just because a bunch of rich snobby jerks need a shot in the pills."

"Okay but you really need to lay off on the Austin Powers."

"I'm sorry I shoved you into the wall Averman."

"It's okay." he said fixing his glasses. "I would've done the same thing."

Luis looked at the girl that was practically his sister. The fear in her eyes scared him.

"Emilia, listen to me and listen good. Those jerks won't lay a finger on you. I don't' know how I'll get it done. But we'll figure it out."

Tears started welling in her eyes along with the fear that was already there.

"Don't say that! You won't be able to stop them. So stop saying that you will!"

The tears were getting stronger with every word. And her voice was getting louder too.

Everyone has a breaking point. And Emilia Mendoza had hit hers, even if it came too quickly. She slid to the floor and held her knees to her chest as best she could and closed her eyes to stop the waterworks which didn't work.

"Maybe I should just go to him and get things over with."

Her voice was quiet. Almost too quiet for anyone to hear. It could have been the tears. But the words were there.

"Mili, you don't want to do that." Julie told her. "We'll go to Buckley. We'll go to Adam's dad if we have to. But don't do something that I know you will regret later."

"It doesn't matter anymore. I've been at this school less than a week and I'm already being singled out by guys who just want the bragging rights that come with seducing the innocent little newbie. If that's what it takes then I might as well get it over with."

She got up from the floor. The tears wouldn't stop as she tried wiping them away. Mili started walking down the hall away from her cousin, away from her roommates and a couple of her friends. but she didn't very get far. The mental and physical exhusation finally got to her. Her eyes grew heavy before everything went dark.

"Emilia!"

A strong pair of arms caught her before she could collapse to the floor and hit her head.

"I got her dude. Connie get the door. Tammy get some alcohol. Julie get the nurse."

Portman took charge of the situation.

"What should I do?"

The questin came from Averman who hadn't been given a job yet.

"Calm Mendoza down. Take him back to his room. Better yet, take him to the common room. He doesn't need this. I'll come get him when she wakes up."

Luis didn't react as Les was leading him away. It was if he was on auto-pilot.

"Luis are you okay?"

"Mili! I have to go to Mili!"

Les tried to hold him down but Luis was stronger than him.

"Let me go Averman. She needs me!"

"Who needs who?" Fulton asked as he walked into the common room. "Luis, are you okay?"

"Move it Averman."

"Calm down man. What's going on?"

"I need to get to Mili!"

"Crap. A minute ago he was catatonic. Now he's flying off his hinges."

"Screw you Lester!"

"I'm just doing what Portman told me to do. You need to calm the fuck down. You won't be any use to her if you get sick or upset."

"It's all my fault. And it's their fault too."

"Whose fault?"

"Riley. Cole. Emerson. And every other jerk that wants a piece of her."

Tears started flowing down Luis Mendoza's face. This was something that none of the Ducks had ever seen.

"You want me to kick their asses?"

"Actually I wanna go kick their teeth in myself. But thanks for asking." He tried wiping the tears away. "She doesn't deserve this. She deserves a nice guy. Someone who'll respect her when she doesn't want to do something she's not ready for. Not some guy that just wants to sleep with her and then tell all his buddies about it the next day in the locker room. She's better than that."

"I know she is. We all know that. And we've only known her a few days."

Fulton was trying his best to comfort the speedster. "We just have to hope that they loose interest before she goes to one of them willingly."

"Too late for that." Averman put his two cents in. "She was already n her way to give in before fainiting in the hall. Good thing Portman was there to catch her and carry her back to the room."

"Is she okay?"

Luis moved his head from side to side just like Mili had done earlier.

"It just all caught up to her. I think her being scared made her not eat. She wouldn't touch her food at lunch and the take out I got her for dinner is still in the container." Luis put his head in his hand. "She just looked so small passed out like that. And I couldn't do a thing to help her."

Averman felt a buzzing in his pocket.

"It's Portman." He said opening the phone. "What's up?"

"She's awake. Tell Mendoza she's asking for him."

"Okay. Thanks Port." He hung up the phone. "She wants to see you."

Luis took off like his life depended on it. He wanted nothing more than to let his cousin know that he was there for her.

"Are you okay mi niña?"

"Luis, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I'm here."

"I was stupid to think about going to Riley to get the dibs over and done with. I was stupid to not eat and not take care of myself."

"It's okay baby. You're obviously under a lot of pressure." he told her while moving some curls from her face. "It's not easy going to a new school. That's a lot to deal with right there. Then add on what pressure you must feel from the moronic jerks that are trying to claim you like some prize."

'Maybe she should go back to Miami. This is all too much for her. And it's only her first week.'

"I'm scared Luis."

'The fear I see in her just breaks my heart. To think I was always proud that my cousin never let a guy pressure her into giving up her virginity. What a time for her to still be one!' Luis was battling with himself. 'That's where the problem is. They don't want to seduce her because she's the new girl. They want her because they can sense that she's pure in every sense of the word. Damnit to Hell!'

"Baby, do you think you're strong enough to eat the food I got you from the diner?" The nod was weak but he still saw it. "Okay, I'm gonna step out with the guys for a minute." He turned his attention to the three girls in the room. "Can one of you help her into some pajamas? It might be more comfortable for her that way."

Tammy agreed to help her change while either Connie or Julie went to heat up her food which had obviously gotten cold by then.

"Luis,"

He looked up from the floor in the hallway.

"Yeah Tammy?"

"She's all changed. Said something about her Juniors."

Luis had to chuckle that the mention of the chocolates that sat in a storage bin at the back of his closet.

"Tell her I said no. She needs real food."

"You might as well tell her that yourself when you see her. I'll give you some privacy. And as soon as the food is warm I'll make sure none of the boys try to bring it to you. They're likely to eat it before we gets it to Mili."

"Thanks Tammy. I'm glad Mili's rooming with you girls."

"We wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, it's nice for us all to see this other side to you that none of us knew was there. We all sort of suspected it being there. We just needed proof to see it." She started down the hall. "It'll be okay. We'll find a way to make it right."

"From you lips to God's ears."

* * *

"Is she feeling better?"

Averman had been worried sick since Luis left the common room minuteS earlier. He was worried about Mili, but he was also worried about his teammate. He had never seen Luis look that panicked before.

"A little bit. Still light headed. But that could be due to the fact that she hasn't eaten all day with the exception of breakfast. But considering she ate a cereal bar and a piece of fruit it doesn't really count."

Goldberg looked at the clock on the wall.

"Curfew's not for a few hours. We could go to the deli and get her some soup or something."

Julie grinned at her fellow goaltender-turned-defenseman.

"Goldie, you a genius. We always feel better after eating some of Mama Goldberg's moltzaball soup. It always helps me when I have the flu."

"And it helps me when I get depressed after Guy and I have a monster fight."

"That's true. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Like after she passed out."

'Not to mention that it's obvious that Goldie might have a crush on Em.'

"I'll call the deli and see if Mom made any today. It's a Monday so she might've just gone with chicken noodle."

He walked out of the room to get his cell phone but popped his head back in a second later.

"If anyone wants anything make a list while I grab the phone off the charger."

"How cute. I think he likes her."

"Duh, we all like her."

"I mean as a girl. It's kind of sweet. But then again, I'm pretty sure that half the guys on the team do."

"I wouldn't blame them for crushing on her."

"Should we make a list?"

"We'll start with Goldberg."

"Bashes are next on the list."

"Wait, are we going in order or just listing at random?"

"Random."

"Scooter."

"But he's not a Duck."

"Doesn't matter, he's still in the circle. Besides, he practically saved her and Luis in the hall during lunch. We've got to give him credit for that."

"What is everyone talking about? Did everyone figure out what they want?"

"Hey Goldberg, if we ask you something will you give us an honest answer?"

"Of course. ask away."

"Do you have a crush on Mili? Or are you just being concerned as a friend?"

"To be honest, both." Everyone looked at him surprised. "Don't get me wrong, I think she's really pretty. But right now, I'm worried about her health. Besides, the poor thing has enough on her plate right now for me, or any other guy that would be good to her, to make her worry about something like how we feel about her."

"Wow. Greg Goldberg being all deep and philosophical. Who would've known."

"Yeah, don't let it get out. I have a rep to look out for."

"So who else do you guys think is on the list?"

"The cowboy for sure. And maybe Kenny. But Wu is more a 50/50 chance."

"Speaking of which, who's coming with me to get the food?"

"Ask one of the Bashes to go with you. You'll need the muscle power to carry all that food."

After getting everyone's orders, Goldberg went to the girls' room and knocked on the door.

"Hi Greg. What's up?"

'Wow, even when she's sick she's still pretty.'

"A couple of us were gonna pick up some food at my family's deli and I came to see if you and Luis wanted anything. I figured you could use some soup but I can get you anything you're hungry for."

"Soup sounds good. Thanks. Let me ask him though." She turned towards the bathroom. "Luis, you hungry?"

"Where from?"

"The deli."

"Meatball sub."

She turned back to Goldberg.

"You heard him."

"Okay, is soup gonna be it for you?"

"How's the roast beef?"

"Depends on whether you want it warm or cold. It's not bad when it's cold but it could be better."

"And when it's warm?"

"The best thing on the menu."

A small smile graced her lips.

"Okay, you talked me into it. Warm roast beef it is."

"Chicken noodle okay? I was gonna bring you some of my mom's famous moltzaball soup but she didn't make any today."

She nodded her approval.

"Chicken noodle's fine Greg. See you later. And thanks again."

"Anytime."

Then he was gone.

* * *

Things were getting better for Mili and the Ducks. Riley and Cole left her alone for the time being. Emerson was a different story altogether.

"Hey there girly. I've seen you around the past few weeks. You're new right? I figured you must be because I would've recognized a sexy little thing like yourself." He was looking at Mili up and down, sizing her up. "You're eating with me."

"I don't think so."

The group of hockey players were watching the scene unfold trying to think of a way to get Mili away from Emerson before they had a repeat of the hallway incident. Luckily they didn't have to wait long. A couple of the Ducks still hadn't come into the mess hall for breakfast.

"Hey, there you are." Dwayne Roberson said coming up behind then. "I thought I told you to meet me in the quad." He said placing his arms around Mili's waist. "Just go along with it." He whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek. "You're a sneaky little philly this morning."

She giggled, playing along with her friend.

"Sorry sweetie." She said looking back at him. "I thought you said to meet you here. Forgive me?"

"She's not worth it. You can have her." Emerson said as he walked off.

"Thank you Mister Robertson. I owe you one."

"Don't step on my toes on purpose and we'll call it even."

"Who was that jerk anyway?"

"Jake Emerson. Captain of the JV football team." said Kenny Wu. "He tries to pull a riley every once in a while. But one thing about Emerson that isn't true about Riley and Cole is that he won't go for the new girl if she's already spoken for."

"Good to know. So, what do you guys think will happen now?"

"You'll have one less jerk bothering you."

"Well, if he's as big a jerk as Riley is then thank goodness."

"To be honest Em, he's kind of a Riley clone."

"You've got a small point there Kenny."

They finally made it to the table, joinging the rest of their friends.

"Great. I've suddenly lost my appetite."

She started pushing away the tray with cereal, toast, fruit, coffee, milk and juice.

"Oh no you don't missy."

The tray was pushed back in front of her.

"You need to keep your strength up. No more passing out because you don't want to eat." The order came from Dean Portman. "As much fun as it is carrying you around, I don't think Luis can handle seeing you like that again."

"Fine," she said with guilt obviously shown on her pretty little face. "but I won't like it."

"Now that we've settled that," Luis cut in. "you wanna explain what went on in the lunchline with my cousin Cowboy?"

His question was aimed at the boy who had taken off his hat and placed it on the back of his chair.

"Sorry about that. Averman told me about the problem with Emerson that night Em got sick while we were waiting for Goldie and the Bash Brothers to get back. I know how he is about the whole dibs thing and the fact that he doesn't like it when the girl in question already has a fella. You're not mad at me are ya?"

"Not if it gets that jerk off her radar. Just warn me next time. I don't know how I feel about the touchy feely stuff. Just warn me so I don't look too shocked in front of that creep. Might blow up in our faces."

"Crap. One problem, guys."

One of the girls got their attention.

"What's that?"

"Cole. He's in the same gym class with you two." she explained to the whole table. "He'll see right through it when he sees them dancing in class."

"Shoot. I didn't think of that. Sorry Em."

"Don't worry about it Cowboy. It's the thought that counts."

"It wouldn't have been a bad idea. It would've been a nice plan if we would've thought about it carefully."

"But I thought Cole was the dumbest guy in school."

"He is when it comes to book stuff. But he knows how to read people."

"Crap is right then." She got up from her seat at the table, leaving her food half eaten. "I'm not hungry anymore."

She felt a hand lightly grasp hers.

"You okay Em?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Think I just need a little air. I'll be fine."

'Way to go Cowboy. To think we thought you just saved the day.' Goldberg was mentally berating Dwayne for not thinking things through before giving Mili some false hope. 'Let's just hope it doesn't completely backfire on us.'

No one noticed the two figures leaving the cafeteria in the same direction that Mili went until it was almost too late.

"Oh no, Riley and Cole are leaving the room. Mili left by herself right?"

The plans to protect the young girl were starting to fall apart before everyone's eyes. Luis was the first one out the door. Panic was written all over his face.

"Where is she? Where is she? Tell me those jackasses didn't get to her."

Luckily she was just outside the cafeteria, safe and sound. They managed to find her before Varsity did.

"I'm sorry Mili. We weren't keeping a very good eye on you. But we noticed that Riley and Cole were headed in your direction. Thank goodness we found you first."

"I'm sorry I left on my own. I just needed to get out of there."

Her voice was soft. It almost sounded broken.

"It's my fault. If I hadn't pulled that stunt on Emerson none of this would be happening."

"Your heart was in the right place Cowboy."

The sad look had had been gone for a couple of weeks had returned to the opera singer's eyes that didn't hide any emotion.

"I'm done. I give up."

She looked so defeated in that moment. None of her friends knew what to do for her.

"We'll think of something."

"That's what you always say. That's what all of you say." She got more upset. "Now I'm back to square one."

Before anyone could respond, Mili took off running in the opposite direction.

"Way to mess things up Dwayne."

"Shut up Goldberg. It wasn't his fault."

"Yes it was Fulton. If he had thought before making the little display in front of Emerson then things wouldn't be getting complicated."

"What's the matter dude? Jealous that you didn't think of it first?"

"Shut it Portman!"

"Dude, we all know that you like the girl. But you don't have to get mad at the Cowboy because of it."

"This isn't about me liking Em. This is about us finding a way to protect her from the jerks in this place that just want to sleep with her like Riley."

The group grew silent.

"It wouldn't matter if Cole saw through his little act." The newly arrived voice startled them. "He doesn't respect the availability of the girl he's after. Same with Rick. If anything, it just slows them down a little."

"So what do we do now?"

"Someone has to go after her, make sure she's okay."

"Might as well be me," Julie said. "since I'm the one that made the observation about Cole in the first place."

"We'll go with you." Said Tammy with Connie in tow. "We should probably split up."

All three girls nodded. Julie headed to the music room. Connie headed to the quad. Tammy headed to the nearest bathroom.

"Jackpot." She said to herself. "Are you okay honey?"

"No I'm not. What am I gonna do Tammy? How do you do it? The three of you? Was it harder for you guys when you were the new girls being looked at like a piece of ass? I'm nothing special. Just some girl. Some short little fat girl that couldn't possibly be looked at more than once by a guy."

"That's not true. Obviously they see something there."

"Yeah, they see the prospect of being the first to get me in bed. They all think I'm stupid. That I don't know what they're up to."

The thought of what all these guys wanted made her sick. She raced into one of the stalls before the little amount of food she did manage to eat made a reappearnce. Tammy felt bad for her roommate.

"Just let it out sweetie." She said coming up behind the chubbier girl holding her hair away from her face. "Feeling better now?"

Mili nodded.

"Just a little. But I don't think I can go to class."

Tammy handed her some tissue.

"You don't look so good."

'That's it. This is too much for her to deal with.'

"I'll be fine. At least I think I will be."

Tammy took out her phone and texted someone.

'Found her.'

'Where?'

'Bathroom. She's not feeling okay.'

'Take her back to the dorms.'

'Okay. Making a pit stop by the nurse's so they know she's not going to class today.'

'Thanks. Take care of her for me.'

'I will.'

"Who were you texting?"

"Luis. You need to lie down. All this stress isn't good for you."

"You can say that again. I can't miss class. We have that quiz in Lit class later."

"No butts young lady. To the nurse then to bed."

"You can be really bossy when you wanna be. Not a nice trait coming from you Tamara Duncan."

The blonde let out a small laugh.

"Learn to live with it Emilia Mendoza."

With that the two girls let the bathroom and went to the nurse's office before heading back to their dorm.

* * *

**All right, let me know what you guys think. I'd really like to hear everyone's opinion. Don't be shy. I hope you guys enjoyed it. More drama to come later.**


	6. The Three C’s

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks or any members of the Varsity team that show up here. They all belong to Disney. I only own my original characters. I also don't own any movies, bands or lyrics mentioned.**

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I was really touched with the response I got for the last chapter. Hope you guys like this one just as much.**

**Chapter Six: The Three C's - Concern, Confession, Confusion**

Biff Cole sat in the locker room getting ready for gym class. He was really looking forward to staring at a particular classmate.

"I never thought I would actually say this. But I love this class."

"That's because you like looking at the cheerleaders move their tight little bodies around the dance floor. I know I do."

The comment came from Noah Evans.

"Nah, they just don't' do it for me anymore Evens." He was tying his shoelaces. "The little cutie that makes me wild just staring at her is Robertson's partner."

"You mean Emilia?" asked Zander, the boy that helped with the sound system that first day she showed up in class. "She's cute. But I think she's dating someone."

"There are only two guys in this school she should be dating. And you're looking at one of them."

* * *

"So, is she okay? I heard that one of the girls took her to the nurse after finding her."

"I don't know man. She was looking kind of pale when she took off. Like she was gonna throw up or something."

"Nice mental image Cowboy. Do you think she'll come to class today?"

"I don't know Adam. But then again, Emmy wasn't in class this morning for first period with Jules, Luis, me and Portman."

"Yeah, she wasn't in second period with Luis, Fulton, Connie and me either. But Tammy wasn't there either."

"Come to think of it, Luis said that Tammy was the one that found her. Maybe the nurse excused Tams from her first two classes so she could keep an eye on Em."

"So it's more than likely she won't be here. That could be a good thing since Cole won't be able to stare at her today."

Both boys nodded in agreement.

"Should probably go ask Coach Wytt either way."

The two boys didn't have to wait.

"Robertson! Front and center."

"Yes ma'am?"

"Your dance partner will not be in class this morning. Turns out the nurse has excused her from class. Since you are her dance partner and the nurse suggests that she not be alone you have also been excused by the nurse's office."

"Thank you for the information Coach Wytt."

"What'd she say?" Adam asked as Dwayne approached him.

"I'm excused from class."

"Meaning she's not doing too good. Nurse probably didn't want her in the dorms by herself in case she needed something or felt worse."

Dwayne nodded.

"Probably put some kind of note in the boxes for her teachers cause I saw Coach looking at a note."

Now it was Adam's turn to nod.

"But how did the nurse know to excuse you?"

"She probably asked Tammy if Mili had any friends in this class since Tammy doesn't have gym this period."

"More than likely. See ya later than. Tell her I said to feel better."

"I'll do that."

He started changing back into his regular clothes after everyone cleared out of the locker room. After making sure that everything was in its proper place, he left towards the dorms to keep his sick friend company.

* * *

'So who do you think will keep the invalid company this period?'

'Don't know. What class does she have right now?'

'I think gym class.'

'More than likely whoever her dance partner is. Who was it again, Cake-eater or Cowboy?'

'Cowboy.'

'At least the poor thing won't be bored out of her mind.'

'You sure are right there Jesse. Gotta go. The study hall monitor is heading my way.'

'Kay, later Captain.'

Charlie put his cell phone away just in time before the monitor came to his table.

"Mr. Conway, good to see you're actually working instead of sleeping on my watch."

"Yes sir. Big English test coming up. Gotta keep the grades up for hockey."

With that he was left alone by the annoying adult.

* * *

Grace Goldberg was working hard in the deli. The busy season ended with the end of summer months ago. But the coming weeks would soon see more people ordering soup when customers came through the door.

"Order of soup to go." came the voice of one of her employees.

"Soup of the day or moltzaball? Cup or bowl?"

"Today's soup in a cup."

The closer it came to winter the deli started serving two soups. There was the soup of the day, which varied from broccoli and cheese to chicken noodle, and the famous Grace Goldberg moltzaball soup. The regulars that knew of her famous soup often ordered this. But when someone was just passing through the neighborhood on their lunch break stopped in they usually ordered whatever soup was on the menu that day.

The phone ringing caught Grace off guard.

"Goldberg's deli."

"Hi Ma, it's Greg."

"Hi baby. How's everything at school?"

"Good, classes are good. Hockey is hockey."

"That's good to hear baby."

"Anyway, I was just calling to see what soup you made today."

"Beef stew. Then I've also got the house special."

"Okay, good. Do me a favor, set aside some of both for later."

"Who's sick? Or depressed?"

"You know the Ducks too well Ma."

"After all these years I would think I should."

"Luis' cousin is the one that's sick."

"The pretty one with the curls? What's wrong with her?"

"Don't know. Probably stressed out. We're all worried about her. Doesn't eat right. Then when she does eat, she gets sick. I think she's still getting used to the crappy food in the caf."

Grace laughed at her son's comment.

"But seriously Ma, she looked really sick this morning. The nurse made her miss class and everything."

"Okay, here's what I'll do. I'll drive over there and check on her when I drop off the soup. Might as well bring the lot of you something to eat. The usuals?"

"Yeah, and I guess you might wanna put a warm roast beef in the mix Ma. No telling if she'll be better by then."

"Okay, I'll see you later Greg. If you see her before I drop by, tell her I said to feel better."

"I will Ma. See you then."

The deli wasn't too busy. She could easily make lunch for her boys and girls and bring it to them while she paid them a visit. She always called them that since she considered the rest of them her kids because Goldberg was an only child. And she took every chance she got to fatten them up like a good mother normally would after not seeing her children for months at a time.

"Order up!" she had called to the employee.

* * *

"So, when do you think you'll be able to close the deal?"

"What's it to you Emerson? I already told you that I got dibs. I just need to rethink my strategy. She's always guarded by those Ducks."

Rick Riley and Jake Emerson were sitting around the common room in the upperclassman dorms during their free period. "If it's not her little 'boyfriend' then it's Mendoza. If it's not him, it's those stupid enforcers of theirs."

Rick sat rubbing his temples.

"Then we need to find a way to get her when none of the Duckies are around her. They can't obviously be with her every single second of the day. Think about it Rick."

"The only time I have seen her without any of them is when they're on the ice. And if she's not with them, she's somewhere else that I haven't been able to find her."

His patience was starting to get the better of him. Usually when he called dibs on a new girl, it didn't take him very long to get the girl. But Emilia Mendoza had been the only girl that resisted his charms from the moment he laid eyes on her. The girl was all Rick Riley thought about for weeks. Then suddenly out of nowhere she supposedly started dating one of the JV hockey players that Riley still felt didn't belong at Eden.

"I don't know how I'll do it. But that girl will be mine. Whether she likes it or not, even if I have to force her."

"Then I guess I'll have to help you with that."

"Don't mind if you do emerson. Maybe if you play nice, I'll let you have the second helpings that normally go to Cole."

Both boys had sinister grins on their faces.

* * *

The sun was shining through the window blinds as Mili sat in her room.

"I hate this place."

"Don't say that. I think the situation is just getting to you."

She couldn't help the tears that wanted to fall.

"It's not fair. I mean I knew I'd have to deal with apeholes when I started a new school. Everyone does. You guys did."

"But it's different for you, isn't it?" he asked wiping her cheek with his thumb. "I mean, the worst they did to us guys was put our clothes in the shower and stiff us with a large bill. The girls did get hit on, but I don't think it was this bad for them."

"What am I gonna do Dwayne?"

"I wish I knew what to tell you. This is obviously one of those times when I actually wished I was a girl. Advice always seems to come easier from them."

Mili couldn't stop the giggle that escaped.

"What was that? Did I manage to make you laugh?"

She shook her head even though there was a small smile starting to spread.

"You're in for it now little girl."

"Don't even think about it Cowboy."

It was too late. Dwayne had gotten ahold of Mili and started a tickle war.

"I give up! Uncle!" She tried not to laugh too hard. "Stop tickling me!"

Sooner or later she got the upper hand and managed to pin him long enough for him to stop the tickles.

"You win! You win!" He Surrendered full of laughter. "I'm just glad you're not so gloomy anymore."

"I'm sorry Dwayne. I didn't mean to bring you down with my moods."

She sat with her head on his shoulder. "You and Luis and the Ducks are the only things I don't hate about this school. And my music. And the few friends I managed to make, especially guy friends who don't hit on me."

"Like Scooter and that guy in class that helped you with the sound system?"

"Scooter yes, the sound system guy not so much. I mean he's one of few in that class that don't look me up and down while we're dancing. Or at least if he does, it's to see how the step is supposed to be done. He doesn't look at me like Cole does."

"Or the way that Riley does either?"

She nodded her head.

"Tell me something to get my mind off things."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

'Because if I tell you what I'm thinking right now then you'll think I'm just like all of them.'

"Dwayne, you can tell me anything."

"Are you sure about that?"

Another nod came from Mili.

'Should I say the words out loud or just do something about it?'

"There's a girl. But I haven't told her anything about how I feel."

"Why haven't you?"

"She's a friend and I don't think she feels the same way. But she's got a lot on her plate right now too."

"Do I know her?"

He nodded.

"Does she live in this dorm?"

Another nod.

'Don't let it be me. Please don't let it be me. I don't know how I'd be able to handle it with everything else.'

"Is it one of us girls?"

He couldn't look her in the face anymore for fear of what reaction he might see in her eyes.

"It's you Mili."

She let out a ragged breathe.

"Dwayne, I don't know what to say. I'm flattered that you feel that way. But I don't know if I share those same feelings."

'I knew she wouldn't like me.'

"I'm sorry Mili. I had a feeling you didn't. That was part of the reason I didn't wanna tell you. And I didn't wanna put anymore pressure on you."

"Is that why you did what you did this morning with Emerson?"

"Partly. I might've still done it had it been one of the others." He looked up for a minute. "You're just so pretty and these jerks want you for all the wrong reasons and I felt this need to protect you."

'Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to see if I can't return the feelings.'

She thought to herself. 'Maybe, but how?'

The cd player had switched to a mix cd of different songs that she liked. The song that came on was a slow one. Something by Marc Anthony, one of his earlier recordings.

'Better time as any.'

She stood up walking over to the cd player. She turned up the volume a little to the song that was playing.

"Dance with me?"

The question caught him off guard.

"Only if you want me to."

_River of days  
Ocean of night  
We drift away  
all of our lives_

He walked to where she stood in front of the cd player.

"We don't have to dance salsa if you don't want to. Maybe you can show me one of your dances?"

Her voice was nervous. She thought for a second he might have heard the uncertainty but wasn't sure. He just looked at her before taking one hand in his and pulling her close to him.

_Years I sailed  
many miles from shore  
Until I looked  
and saw your light_  
"Mili, what are you thinking in that pretty little head of yours?"

"Nothing really. Just trying to block everything out of my mind."

"Okay. Close your eyes and just listen to the music. Don't think of anything that has to do with Riley or Cole or any of those other jerks."

Once she closed her eyes, Mili concentrated on the sound of his voice and her own breathing. She was getting lost in the music and the dance itself.

_One shining moment  
the instant I looked at your face  
One shining moment  
No lifetime alone could replace  
a moment is all it takes  
One shining moment_  
"Dwayne?"

"Yeah Mils?"

"When did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That you liked me?"

"To be honest, I can't really pinpoint it to one specific moment. Just little things over the past few weeks. Then one day I woke up and realized that I liked you."

She thought back to their first encounter.

"And here I thought it was when you became my knight in blue jean armor that afternoon in the hallway."

"When you tripped on the carpet? I think that's where the need to protect you first started."

_Gently we touched  
thunder I hear  
wanting so much  
to hold you near_

_Lost in time  
I can see that I  
falling through space  
and no more fear_

The memory was still fresh in her mind. The way he kept her from landing on her face when she fell, his arms felt so strong. She felt safe there. But she didn't know if it was friendship or more that was the result of it.

_One shining moment  
the instant I looked at your face  
One shining moment  
No lifetime alone could replace  
a moment is all it takes  
One shining moment_

'Only one way to find out.'

'Should I?'

"Do you think you could do something for me?"

_Years I sailed  
many miles from shore  
until I looked and saw your light_

"Depends on what you need."

The song was starting to end.

"Do you think? Never mind."

'What are you afraid of? I know you wanted to ask me for something. What is it?'

Before Dwayne could ask her, Mili pulled out of his arms and started walking past him. Before she could get completely past him Dwayne took her hand and turned her around facing him again.

"Mils, what's wrong? Remember what you said earlier? You can tell me anything."

"I don't know what's wrong. I guess I'm just a little confused. It's not important."

Dwayne looked into her eyes and rubbed her cheek.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure."

He couldn't stand it anymore. She felt right in his arms a moment ago and now that she was pulling away, physically and emotionally, it hurt a little. He needed to protect her, needed to hold her and let her know that things would be all right.

"You'll get through this. We'll get through it together along with everyone else. We all love you Mils. And we'll figure a way to keep you safe."

He kissed the top of her head which smelled like fresh lilies. He looked at her face when he felt something damp on his chest.

"Oh Mils, don't cry." He said rubbing the tears away. "It breaks my heart when you do that."

"I'm sorry Dwayne, I don't mean to be a crybaby. I'm just so scared that crying is the only thing I can think of to do."

He kissed the top of her head again before wiping more tears from her face. Their eyes locked a second longer than they normally did and he leaned in while she closed her eyes.

'Here goes nothing. Either he was reading my mind earlier or he's doing what his heart's telling him to do.'

_One shining moment  
the instant I looked at your face  
One shining moment  
No lifetime alone could replace  
a moment is all it takes  
One shining moment_

The kiss was soft and tender. Dwayne had one hand on her cheek while the other tangled itself in her curls.

If Mili wasn't confused before, she certainly was now. Dwayne was one of her best friends. And he was her dance partner in gym class. What if what she felt wasn't what he wanted her to feel? Could she really hurt him like that? Her mind was swimming with all sorts of thoughts.

Without either of them knowing, the door had opened but was closed as soon as they were spotted. Whoever came to the dorm room stepped back into the hall to give them some privacy.

* * *

The two teenagers looked at the door with suprprised looks etched on their faces. "I thought you said they were just pretending?"

"That's what I thought. We can't let them know we saw them."

"Why not Tammy?"

"Because I said so. Besides, we don't know the whole story. Kenny, you have to promise me you won't say anything. Especially in front of you know who."

"You honestly think I'd say anything in front of HIM? I might have a big mouth, now more than ever since I've been spending time with Russ learning my trash talk. But I wouldn't hurt HIM by letting out that the girl he likes was kissing someone else."

"I know you wouldn't." She decided to change the subject in case one of their friends came along while they were talking. "How's that going for you anyway?"

"A tiny bit better. The things that come out of my mouth are improving but my timing still needs work. But I'm way better at picking my targets than I used to be."

The figure skaters laughed.

"But seriously, we can't say anything about this, unless one of them comes to one of us." Kenny nodded his head in agreemenT. "In the meantime, we didn't see anything."

A door slamming inside caught their attention.

"Mili, open the door please."

They took this as a good sign to go back into the room they just exited.

"Is everything going okay with her? Why'd she slam the door?"

"I think she's mad at me. or confused. She won't open the door."

The poor guy looked so defeated.

"Let me try." Tammy said as she walked towards the bathroom. "Em, it's Tams. Can I come in there?"

The door unlocked but didn't open. She had her hand on the knob. Before going in she turned to her friends.

"Just give me a minute. I'll see what I can do."

She closed the door behind her and locked it as Mili had previously done.

"What's the matter sweetie?"

Tears were falling down her cheeks and her hair had become messy. She sat huddled in a corner by the bathtub against the wall.

"Things can never be the same."

It was soft but just barely.

"What do you mean?"

They sat there in silence while Mili thought of how to answer her roommate. Her hand absentmindedly went to trace her lips.

"He likes me but I don't think I like him back. But it can never be the same."

"Who likes you sweetie?"

"Dwayne. He told me today. And I told basically him that I didn't know how I felt in return. I was confused. I asked him to dance."

Tammy listened while Mili rambled.

"The song was nice and slow. I was trying to clear my head but it didn't really help. I thought I wanted him to kiss me. I mean I know I did. But I didn't know how it would make me feel. I like him, I do. But not like that."

'Oh Mils, I wish I knew what kind of advice to give you.'

"And the kiss was nice. I got swept up in the moment. The dance, the music. But there were no sparks."

"It's okay honey. I'm sure he's not mad at you because of it. He's worried about you. He sounded so scared when we were in the hall."

"We?"

"Me and Kenny. We were coming to the room to see how you were feeling after our class let out early."

Mili's eyes got big.

"Please tell me you didn't see." She said embarrassed. "That's all I need. To have my first kiss with a boy witnessed by my roommate and one of our friends."

"It was your first?"

Mili couldn't hold in the blush.

"Sixteen and never been kissed. I can't believe I just let that piece of information slip. Please don't tell the girls."

"I won't. Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

"Was it good? It sure looked like it."

"Tammy!" she exclaimed while covering her face. "Aside from the whole not feeling the same way, it was really sweet."

"On a scale of 1 to 10."

"I really have nothing to compare it to but I'd have to say an 8 if not a 9."

"Was there any tongue action? Wait, this is Dwayne we're talking about. Of course there wasn't. So how exactly was it? Was it what you imagined your first kiss to be like?"

"Actually, it was better than what I thought it would be like. He was gentle and the way he touched my cheek was so innocent. His lips were really soft and he smelled like candy. Or fresh fruit." She stopped as a wistful look came across her face. "If I felt the same way, then maybe it would've been closer to a 10. That's for sure. And that's why I locked myself in here after I pulled away. I realized how I did, or in this case didn't, feel and I couldn't handle knowing that I hurt him. So I had to stop the kiss before things got more screwed up."

"I think you hurt him more by running away from him and bolting yourself in our bathroom."

"Is he still out there?"

"I can check. Do you want me to send him in here if he is."

"Yeah. I need to talk to him."

"Okay."

* * *

The room was quiet, too quiet, for the two boys in there waiting for the bathroom door to open. It seems like a lifetime even though it was only mere seconds.

"Is she okay? Does she hate me?"

"She wants to talk to you. Go on in. I'll cover for you two if the rest show up before you come out of there." She looked down at her watch. "Third period is halfway over by now. And if I know Mama Goldberg like I do, she's already heard that someone's sick and will be bringing food."

"Which means the rest of the team will be here soon."

"Yeah. Go. Talk to her."

Then he disappeared.

"Did she tell you anything? You know?"

"About the kiss?"

"Yeah, so did she? Cause he didn't say a word."

"He told her."

"Really? I thought he'd never get up the nerve."

"Neither did I till she told me. But that doesn't matter now."

"Why not?"

"Because she has to deal with the fact that she doesn't feel the same."

"Poor them."

"You can say that again."

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay everyone, I think I'll leave things there for now. Let me know what you think. Also, a side not to fellow Dwayne fans - please don't be mad at me for what I did. Maybe her feelings will change. Maybe they won't. Only time will tell. Remember to vote in the poll people! Before I forget, the song used in this chapter was 'One Shining Moment' by Marc Anthony.**


	7. Everything’s Complicated

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own the Mighty Ducks or any members of the Varsity team that show up here. They all belong to Disney. I only own my original characters. I also don't own any movies, bands or lyrics mentioned.**

**Author's Note:**** Thank you to everyone who's been reading this. I hope everyone likes this chapter. I'm sorry it took me so long to put it out but I've been busy the past month or so with school. Now that finals are over, I can work on my fanfics. Enjoy :-)**

**Chapter Seven: Everything's Complicated**

"Are you mad at me? I mean for basically running away from you?"

The boy in front of her looked up at her wide eyed.

"I could never be mad at you. If anything, I'm mad at myself for upsetting you more than you already were." He looked back down and took one of her small hands in his. "I don't want you to feel pressured. If there weren't any sparks at all, then things can go back to the way they were this morning."

She wasn't that confident in their friendship anymore.

"How can you say that? You kissed me and I locked myself in here crying my eyes out. You have feelings for me that I'm not sure I can return. I don't think I'd be able to say the same thing if I was in your shoes."

"Emilia, I like you. I could even love you one day if I was given the chance. But I value our friendship too much to make you say that you like me the same way just to make myself happy. And it would make me happy. But I'm more concerned with what would make YOU happy. If it's me than great. If not, then I would just hope that whoever would make you happy was good to you."

"So you would be willing to walk away if I told you that I had those exact feelings for someone else?"

"Yep. If that was the case then so be it."

The knock on the door got their attention.

"Hey guys, everybody will be here in like five minutes." Kenny's voice came from the other side of the door. "Just giving you a heads up."

"Thanks Ken."

"That's our cue. We can talk about this later when you're ready. Til then, we'll just pretend the kiss didn't happen."

"Okay, we'll table it for now. But can I have a minute alone?"

"Sure. Take your time."

Dwayne gave her a quick hug and kissed the top of her head before leaving the bathroom.

"Bueno Emilia, lavate la cara. Si no, todos van a saber que lloraste. Entonces vendran las preguntas. (Okay Emilia, wash your face. If not, everyone will know you were crying. Then come all the questions.)"

* * *

The lunchroom was loud but not as loud as usual. One of the tables that was usually crowded was practically empty. Most people didn't notice or didn't care. But a certain group of boys in Varsity jackets did.

"Where are they? More importantly, where is she?"

"Where's who?" Cole asked Rick. "Those little whimps finally decide they don't belong here?"

Scooter looked up to where Rick and Cole were focusing their attention.

"Leave them alone guys. I'm pretty sure they just went off campus or something for lunch. Maybe had a team meeting or something. Does it really matter? Or are you two just mad because you can't bother them?"

"Whatever." said the two boys.

'I hope they didn't leave Mili alone in her room. Good thing these idiots don't know where she lives yet. But it's only a matter of time.'

* * *

The room wasn't as loud as she thought it would be before leaving the bathroom. When she went into the main room, she found out why.

"Hey sweetie, feeling better?"

"A bit Cons, thanks."

"Good. We sent Kenny and Dwayne down with the guys to help Mama Goldberg unload the car."

"Not to mention we wanted to have a little time for girly talk without them bothering."

This made Mili laugh a little.

"Meaning you wanted to ask Connie how how a kisser Guy was?"

"Or who you girls thinks has a crush on the poor girl?"

All four girls stopped laughing when they heard Grace Goldberg standing in their doorway.

"Just thought I'd beat the boys up here."

"Hi Mama Goldberg!" Three of the girls said.

"You must be Emilia. My boy didn't do you justice when he told me about you."

"Thank you Mrs. Goldberg." Mili said blushing. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nonsense. Just call me Mama Goldberg like the rest. Are you feeling alright? Gregory said you were a little under the weather?"

"A little bit. Thank you." Mili said getting back in bed. "Not much to fuss over. But thank you for asking."

"La enfermeda le dijo que tenia que descansar. Si tia, ya voy en camino a su dormitorio. Debe estar dormida. Si tia, le dare el recado. Hasta luego tia. Yo tambien te quiero. (The nurse told her she needed to rest. Yes tia, I'm on my way to her dorm right now. She might be sleeping. Okay tia, I'll give her the message. I'll talk to you soon tia. I love you too.)"

The boys came into the room after Luis hung up his cell.

"Luis, was that my mom on the phone?"

"Yeah, said she hopes you get better and for us to take good care of you."

"Threathened to have your head delivered to her on a sliver platter otherwise did she?"

The smirk on Mili's face was just too cute for Luis to get mad at his cousin.

"You know your mom too well. But it's only because she loves you too much."

"Emilia, if these boys don't take care of you then you just let me know. I have to get going. I'll see you kids later. Feel better and get some rest honey."

"Thanks again Mama Goldberg."

* * *

_A couple days later…_

Scooter was walking down the hall when he passed by the library. He remembered that he lent Julie some notes when he saw her though the window.

"Hey there Gaffney. How's the patient doing?"

"She's starting to feel a little stir crazy. And getting tired of soup."

"I wonder why."

"Mama Goldberg sends over a couple bowls of it every day. Has so since she found out that someone was sick. Told me to try and sneak her a pizza but Luis won't let her have it."

"Poor girl." the upperclassman commented. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Find a way to lobotomize Riley and Cole along with all the other idiots that are after her tail. I think she'd call you her hero. Maybe build a statue in your honor."

They both laughed a little at that.

"But seriously Jules, I'm worried about her."

"We all are Scoot." Juile tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I think the stress of all of it is what made her sick in the first place."

"I just wish I could find a way to stop them."

"Maybe you can cheer her up. She hasn't been telling me much in the past day or two but something else is up with her. I don't know if the girls have noticed it. But maybe you can get it out of her."

"I'll try what I can. Is she by herself right now?"

"Nope, Kenny's keeping her company right now. Might be a good time to visit."

"Okay, see you later."

"Bye Scooter."

* * *

Minutes later he was standing in front of the girls' dorm room getting ready to knock when he saw Dwayne coming down the hall with a sullen face.

"What's the matter Cowboy?"

The younget boy looked up.

"Hey there Scooter. Come to visit Mils? I'm sure she'll be happy to see a friendly face such as yourself."

"I was thinking about it. Is everything okay with you? Seem a little down in the dumps."

Dwayne place his hands in the pockets of his jeans debating whether to confide in Scooter or not.

"Just a little girl trouble. Nothing that's important."

"Of couse it is. You wanna talk about it?"

"Only if you wouldn't mind listening."

He replied. "I'd appreciate it."

The two walked a little ways down the hall til they reached Dwayne's room.

"Make yourself at home. Can I get you anything to drink?"

Scooter shook his head.

"I'm fine thanks. So you wanna tell me the problem?"

"I fell for her. And she knows it."

Realization dawned on Scooter's face.

"How did Em take the news?"

"First I confused her. Then I upset her."

"Why do you say that?"

"I kissed her."

"Whoa. Sounds like a big step. How did that go?"

"I really don't know. It caught her off-guard. But at the moment, it felt so right."

"And now?"

"It still feels right. like she was supposed to be right there."

"But if it turned out that she doesn't feel that way?"

"Then I would've killed the best possible friendship between the two of us."

"And you don't want either of those to happen."

* * *

Meanwhile a similar discussion was going in the girls' room with Kenny.

"I don't know if it's because I'm scared to take that leap with him. Or if this whole situation with the apeholes just has my head all screwed up."

"What did you feel in the moment?"

"Peaceful. But then the moment was gone. And all I felt was more confusion."

"If he came to see you right now and swept you in his arms what would you feel?"

"I don't know Kenny." Mili said biting her lip. "The whole situation scares me to death."

"I know it does sweetie." He tried to be reassuring. "But nothing worth having isn't scary."

"Can we talk about something else. I've talked this over and over with Tammy. And it went nowhere. Tell me what I missed today."

"Nothing exciting happened. At least not til lunch. There was a couple of girls flirting with us. More specifically the Bashes. And Dwayne now that I remember."

"Are you serious? Or was that last part just to get a reaction out of me?"

"It really happened. See for yourself tomorrow."

"Okay." She thought about it for a minute. "Was she pretty?"

"Pretty skanky if you ask me. He wasn't paying attention to her. Just kept looking down at his lunch. Both of the Bashes were ignoring the girls talking to them too. Something about those skanks just didn't sit right with me."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because none of them were you. And they like you."

"Portman and Fulton don't like me, at least not like that. Not that I know of." Something came over her face. "Kenny, are you telling me that Dwayne isn't the only guy on the team that likes me like that?"

"You mean you didn't know?"

"Kenny, until he said the words outload, I didn't even know that Cowboy had those feelings for me."

Her head dropped to her pillows. Then the knock on the door got her attention.

"Who is it?"

"Scooter. Can I come in?"

"Kenny, would you get it please?"'

"Yeah. And don't worry about me. I'm not one of them." He opened the door. "Hey man. How's it going?"

"Good. Hey there Em. I heard you were sick. You feeling better?"

"Yes. Thanks for asking." Mili sat up in bed again. "Scoot, you don't like me like a girl do you?"

"What?! What made you ask me that?"

"Kenny just outed the Bashes."

"And you already knew about Robertson."

"How do you know about that?"

"Just came from talking to him."

Mili's face became flushed.

"Yeah, I was just telling Em here that Tex wasn't the only guy carrying a torch for her. I was telling her about the skanks at lunch."

"Warn the guys to stay away from them. All the guys. I have a feeling they're working for Riley to get info from the team."

"Apehole. Not you, him."

"I know cutie." Scooter ran his hand through his hair. "But to answer your question, no. I only like you like a little sister. And like a friend."

"Thank goodness. That makes two guys besides Luis that I don't have to worry about."

"Who's the other guy?"

"Me. I was just telling her so when I was letting you in."

"Is it because you like another girl in the group or because you've got your eye on someone completely different?"

"It's because I already have a girlfriend." Kenny said taking out his wallet. "Her name's Jasmine. I met her in my history class last year. We've been dating since the spring."

"She's cute." Mili said while looking at a picture of the couple. "When do we get to meet her?"

"Whenever you want. The rest of the team already met her."

"I'd like that. One more girll for me to be friends with. Hopefully."

"I'm sure you two will get along famously. I'll ask her when I see her later in Biology."

"So Kenny, who else likes our little Em?"

Kenny rubbed his chin in deep thought.

"Let's see if I can remember the list we made that night in the common room."

"Wait, you guys made a list? And you didn't bother to tell me about it?"

"We didn't really put much stock into it. We were just predicting who we thought might like you that way. The only ones that I remember for sure were Dean, Fulton and Dwayne. The others were hypotheticals, I think."

"Who else was on the list?"

"Actually you were one of the guys now that I think of it."

"But I don't like her that way. No offense Em."

"None taken."

"If it makes you feel any better, they had me on the list as a 50/50. But from what I remember about that night, we figured the ones that were for sure were Dwayne and Fulton and Portmaan. Goldberg was a guess until they asked him."

"And after they asked him?"

"He was a definite. Even though that night he was all about being your friend and having been worried about you."

"That's understandable. No wonder he gets all rosy cheeked whenever I thank him for being so sweet and considerate."

"Yeah. He was pretty ticked at Cowboy that morning you got sick when we thought the plan wouldn't work."

"I remember that. He was so mad that he actually yelled at the Bash Brothers. Never thought I'd live to see the day anyone would dare do that."

"Greg yelled at them? Why did he do that Kenny?"

"Well, it's like this Em. He was worried about you and mad that you got upset about whatever it was that Julie pointed out about Cole. He started yelling at Dwayne. Then when Fulton and Portman jumped in to defend him, Goldberg went off on them."

"Wow. I can't believe he'd do that. All for me?"

Kenny nodded.

"Someone actually thought he was just being jealous. But I think he was just scared for you."

"Just when I thought I couldn't handle enough on my plate."

"Maybe that's why Greg hasn't told you how he feels. And why Dwayne was nervous about telling you himself."

"It might be more because of how embarrassed he could be if he knew you found out how he feels."

"You mean in case she doesn't feel the same way about him?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"When did my life get so complicate?"

"I guess the second Rick called dibs?"

"I was being rhethorical, Scooter. But thanks a lot for reminding me."

"I gotta go." He said looking at his watch. "Practice is in twenty, thirty minutes. Hope you feel better."

"Thanks. I'll try."

"Kenny, what would you do in my shoes?"

"Ignore everyone and just wait it out. If Connie and Julie keep trying to get information out of you that you don't wanna give them, don't. If you wanna confide in them, do it without being scared. Just go with what your guts are telling you."

Mili took a deep breathe.

"And if my guts are telling me two different things at the same time?"

"Then you're either at a loss or an impass."

"That's what I was afraid of."

* * *

"So what's the plan to get the girl?"

"I'm not telling you Cole. You'll just fuck it up."

"No I won't Rick. If anyone fucks it up it'll be Emerson or those studpid Ducks. They're around her all the damn time."

"I think I might've found when she's not with them. Word is she was brought in for that new music program. Broarway or some spit like that."

"Opera. She was given a music scholarship with an emphasis on opera."

"How do you know this Emerson?"

"I have my connections."

"Whatever. I figured that hot little number's gotta go to the music rooms to practice whatever it is that she sings. We can nab her than. I doubt any of her bodyguards will be with her then."

"And if they are?"

"Then we take care of them. Easy as cake Cole."

The sinister looks on all three faces was not a good sign of things to come.

* * *

**Author's Note:**** All rightie everyone, that's a wrap for this installment. Sorry if it's short. I just wanted to give you guys something new since it's been a while. Please check out the new poll on my profile. Reviews would be a nice present, but no presure. In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays :-p**


	8. Dangerous Truths

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks or any members of the Varsity team that show up here. They all belong to Disney. I only own my original characters. I also don't own any movies, bands or lyrics mentioned.**

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who's been reading this. I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to write this. I'd hit a block here just like my other story and had to read chapter seven in order to clear my head. Plus school has had me really busy this past week. I hope everyone likes this chapter. Enjoy :-)**

**Chapter Eight: Dangerous Truths**

A couple of weeks had gone by and things seemed to get better. Things were still quiet on the 'dibs' front. Things with Mili and Dwayne were a little awkward at times considering they were still dance partners in gym class. Things with the Ducks in general were still good. Goldberg and Portman had gotten over their crushes on Mili and were focusing on just being her friends. From time to time, they would still hang out with her. Eventually Portman would go to her for some advice.

"Hey Lia, can I ask you something?"

Mili smiled at the new nickname the enforcer had bestowed upon her.

"What's on your mind?"

"It's a girl thing. Don't worry, not you."

"I don't know if I should be flattered by that or offended." Her lips curved upward as she saw Portman raise his hands defensively. "I'm just kidding. So you want my advice on asking Julie out?"

"How'd you-"

"Puh-lease! You've only been hanging out with me more since you got over whatever infatuation it was you had with me and realized what a looker my roommate was."

"It's not because I think she's a pretty face. She's a tough chick. Something she proved the first time we went up against Iceland."

"I heard about that. Which reminds me-"

"You want her to show you the Gaffney Iceland Special. She should trademark that move." They both laughed at his comment. "Come on short stuff. The gang's waiting on us to go get pizza."

"Yum. My favorite."

"Do you think you'll ever eat soup again?"

"Only if I'm so sick that I can't hold anything solid down. I love Mama Goldberg's soup, but a whole week of that and nothing else is boring. Did Julie tell you that Luis wouldn't let me have any junk food? Not even my Juniors!"

"For good reason."

Mili felt a pair of strong arms around her waist and a chin on her shoulder.

"Hey primo. How's your paper coming?"

"Not bad. You wanna proof it when I'm done?"

"Sure. You feel like coming with me to the rehearsal hall? I gotta work on that piece that was giving me trouble. And you always said my singing helped you work better."

"Sure, I'll see if I can get a copy printed while we get dinner. I'll meet you guys down there."

"Okay but hurry up. Tengo hambre (I'm starving)."

"Fine, I'll print it later. Let's go."

"Yay! I knew you'd see it my way."

"Be happy I love you so much."

Portman just stood by and laughed at the two cousins.

* * *

"She's on the schedule tonight for the hall. It should be perfect for our little plan."

"Remember, I get second helpings after you finish with her."

"Cole, if you don't quit whining like a baby I'm gonna give seconds to Emerson. He was the one who got the info in the first place."

"Not to mention I got the stuff ready. You'll just be there for brute force."

"Eat me Emerson."

"Sorry Biff, I don't roll that way."

"Enough! You too stop fighting or I get first, second and third while you two get nothing."

"Fine." Both boys let out. "But I get second."

"Whatever. Flip a coin if you have to. I don't care. As long as I get what belongs to me."

None of them knew it but someone was listening to their plans. The person that heard them walked away from the door before anyone knew they were there.

"I have to warn her. There is no way I'm gonna let Riley ruin her life the way he did mine. But how can I warn her?"

"How can you warn who?"

"Scooter, thank goodness I ran into you. You're friends with that new girl, right? The one who's always with the JV team?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You have to make sure that she doesn't got to the rehearsal halls or that the whole team goes with her. We can't let them hurt her!"

"Who? Is it Rick? Is he planning something?"

"Do you know where she is?"

"They all went to dinner. I was on my way to meet them."

"Can I come with you? I don't feel safe here right now. I'm afraid they might know I was at the door. But I'm not sure."

"Okay calm down. Were you supposed to go to see Rick? Or anyone living in that hallway?"

"No, I was going back to my dorm. I'd just finished a tutoring session with this guy in my Psych class. The common room is in the middle of the hall. I had to pass Rick's room on my way to the elevator. That's when I heard them."

"Okay, we'll think of something."

* * *

_Later at the pizza place…_

"Goldberg, what did you do?"

"What? You were late and I was hungry."

"So you ordered my pizza the way I like it but added peppers and onions? Screw it, I'll go order another one."

"What's her problem? Geez, you try and do your friend a favor and get your head handed back to you on a silver platter."

"she's allergic to the peppers and onions. That's why she's mad. I'll go talk her down."

Dwayne walked away from the table to go after Mili.

"I didn't know. Crap!"

"It's okay Goldberg. More for me and Fulton."

"And a whole pizza just for Mili."

_At the counter…_

"You okay?"

Mili looked up at Dwayne.

"Yeah, just hungry and now I have to wait. Plus I'm tired and there's this piece that I'm having trouble with-"

He cut her off with a kiss. She looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You were rambling." He placed a stray curl behind her ear. "You look so cute when you do that. I just couldn't help myself."

"It's okay. Do you think we could talk later, in private?"

"Yeah. Anything in particular you wanna talk about?"

"Later. Let's just have fun with everyone else."

"Okay." He rubbed her cheek. "Before I forget, Scooter called. Said he was running late and bringing a friend."

"That's good. The more the merrier." Mili was looking around at different people. "Did Kenny bring Jasmine? I only meet her a couple of times since I've been sick but she seemed nice."

"She is and he did. You want me to go get them?"

"Nah, it can wait. Oh, remind me to apologize to Goldie if I don't remember on my own."

* * *

"Where is she? Emerson, are you sure it was tonight?"

"Yeah," he looked at his watch. "but I think we're an hour early."

"Guess we'll have to wait. One hour and then she'll be mine."

"But what if she doesn't show up Rick?" Cole asked. "What do we do then?"

"Then we find out where she lives and grab her. We might have to follow those stupid duckies. If anyone knows than they would."

"Too bad Scooter doesn't know where she lives. We'd have a better chance of following him."

"Cole, you're a genius. I'm surprised it didn't occur to me before."

"What do you mean Riley?"

"It's like this Emerson, Scooter's a friend of the chick. If anyone besides JV knows what dorm room she's in it would be Scooter."

"But he'd never tell us because he knows about the dibs."

"Right. So we tail him to see where he goes."

"Then we grab her?"

"Exactly."

* * *

_Later that night…_

"Hey Fabrizio. How are you?" Mili asked into the phone while her friends where still at the table after she excused herself. "I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

Footsteps came up behind the girl, making her turn where she stood. Scooter stood there with a girl she didn't know at his side.

"Just a second." She mouthed to them. "Yeah, it's about the time slots. You don't mind switching? Great. Grazie. Ciao Fabrizio."

"I didn't know you spoke Italian."

"Just a little. You have to know it for opera." Mili turned to the girl standing with them. "You have to excuse Scooter. He doesn't seem to have very good manners." She teased her friend while extending her hand. "Emilia Mendoza."

"Regina Grey. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Em, do you think we could go talk somewhere?"

"Is this about the idiots on your team?" she joked. The looks on Scooter and Regina's faces made her sober up. "Oh no. What happened now?"

"It's a delicate situation." Regina told her. "Is there somewhere private we can go?"

"Hold on. I'll see whose house we can go to. The dorms wouldn't be a good idea."

Mili walked over to the table with the two newcomers.

"Hey cutie, what's up? Did your friend switch with you?"

"Yeah Luis. We need to talk about something. All of us. In private."

"Okay, we'll just head back to school."

"We can't!" all three exclaimed at the same time.

"Whose house is the closest?"

"That would be mine." Connie said.

"Okay, let's go."

After paying the tab and boxing up the leftover pizzas everyone headed to Connie's house after she called her parents to let them know the Ducks were coming over.

"Okay Saunders, what did the dipwad do now?"

"Go ahead Regie." Scooter said squeezing Regina's hand. "Tell then what you heard."

"They were going to grab her tonight. The three of them." She looked straight at Mili. "They knew you'd be in the hall later and that you'd be alone." she looked down at her hands. "They were going after the dibs."

"Something told me not to go. Luis was going with me but then I got this feeling like we shouldn't. Besides, there was something I needed to take care of. Did they know that you heard them?"

"No. I was passing by Rick's room after studying with a classmate and the door was closed. But they were talk loud, like they were arguing about how they were gonna do it. Once I realized what they had in mind I couldn't let that happen." Regina said tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Rick Riley has ruined so many girls at Eden. Some in a good way. Some in a bad way."

"You don't mean?" Tammy started asking but stopped. "Boys will you excuse us girls for a couple of minutes?" she asked before heading all the girls out of the room. "Okay, I know we just met you but something tells me you know more about Riley and his dibs than anybody."

"Yeah, I would. Because I was the first girl he called them on."

Her voice was low and her eyes closed.

"Oh Gina, I'm sorry."

"Don't ever call me that!"

"Regina?" Mili reached out to her. "Did he?"

"What Em's trying to ask is if that ape-" Julie cut in. "You know?"

"Yeah, and there was proof. Lots of it. But Riley's got money. Twisted it all around to make it look like it wasn't what it was. I kept telling him no. Told him to stop. He claimed that even though it was my first time that I liked it rough. No girl wants that. They want the guy to nice to them, gentle. I told him that he stole something that was supposed to belong to the man I marry. He just laughed in my face."

Tears were streaming down her face now. Three years were long enough to hold it in. "You're lucky. You have a whole group of guys that can protect you. I didn't have that. But at least it was just him. I don't even want to think how it would've been if Cole was there too."

Jasmine was in shock. She had heard the rumors for over a year of Rick Riley's conquests. But she never imagined that the guy could be a rapist.

"Regina, is the reason you don't like being called 'Gina' because of the rape?"

Regina nodded.

"Everytime someone calls me that I go back to it in my head and feel cheap and dirty. Like part of my brain is reliving it. I'm sorry I snapped about it."

"It's okay. Does anyone else know?"

"Not really. Scooter suspects. But I've never been brave enough to let him know he's right."

"Mils, has Scooter ever visited you at the dorm?"

"Once, when I was sick. Why Jas?"

"He can't visit you there anymore. It's not safe."

"Because eventually Cole or Rick or that little turd Emerson will figure out that he knows where she lives."

"You got it Cons. Reg, we need to tell the guys. But you really need to tell Scooter." Tammy said rubbing her back to calm the tears. "He can help you. I'll go get him."

"Thanks."

Tammy walked downstairs to where the guys were waiting for the girls.

"Scott?" she waited for him to look at her. "Can you come with me please?"

"What's going on Tams?" Fulton asked his friend.

"We'll explain in a while. But right now, I need Scott to go with me to speak with Regina and the other girls."

After reassuring the boy who would always be her best friend that things would be cleared later she led Scooter upstairs to Connie's room.

"What's going on girls?"

At hearing his voice, Regina threw herself in the only arms where she felt safe after what happened crying years of unshed tears.

"Regie, you're scaring me sweetie."

"Why don't we give them some privacy. Take your time. We'll be waiting outside. I know that if we go downstairs without you then the guys won't wait to find out what the situation is."

Connie and the other girls left the room and waited in the hall.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not saying anything sooner. It's all my fault."

"What is?"

"You remember sophomore year when that girl accused Rick of trying to have sex with her when she didn't want to but no one believed her?"

"Yeah. All the girls that liked Rick shunned her for it."

"I was the only girl in our grade that would go near her. I knew she wasn't lying."

"How did you know?"

"Remember halfway through freshman year when I wouldn't go near anybody. You came and talked to me. Asked me if somethhign had happened to me. Do you remember what it was you asked me?"

"If someone had hurt you. Was it Rick? If he touched you the way I thought all those years ago I'll kill him!"

"Scott, no!"

"What did you call me?"

"You heard me."

"You haven't called me that since back then."

"Please promise me you won't go after him. You'd be putting her and the girls in danger. Mainly her."

"You should have let me handle it back then."

"I tried to handle it. But he made it go away. I went to the hospital the night it happened. I talked to the police. But his father's money and influence made it get twisted around. He was gonna hurt her tonight. All three of them were. They were going to do that little girl what he did to me and I couldn't let that happen."

"It's okay. he won't hurt you anymore. You'll be safe now. And so will Em. If it's the last thing I do."

Five minutes passed in silence while she cried in his arms. Then they headed out the door so they could join the guys and let them know what was going on.

"So," Adam started. "do either of you girls want to clue us in?"

"Lia? What's wrong girlie?"

Mili just ran past everyone and out the backdoor.

"Should I go after her?" Portman asked. "Or should we send the cowboy?"

Everyone looked between Dean Portman and Dwayne Robertson.

"Tex should go."

Dwayne walked outside to find Mili on the porch steps with her shoulders slumped and her arms hugging around her own waist with loud sobs pouring out.

"Em, are you okay?" he asked sitting down. "Talk to me."

"I'm scared. " her tiny voice told him. "Just hold me. We'll talk later. I just need to know that my best friend is here with me."

"I'll always be here for you. You know that."

"Do you know what my original plans were tonight after dinner? I was supposed to go work on my music. I was going to be there alone. Then just before dinner Luis asked me to proof a paper he's working on." She wiped at her own tears. "Do you know what was going to happen to me if I hadn't told you that we'd talk?" she sniffled. "At the pizza place earlier? I would've been all alone and unable to protect myself."

"Baby doll, what are you talking about?" She acted like she didn't hear his question. "Would you have still wanted to be with me if something horrible had happened to me tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I had gone by myself to work on my music. If Riley and his friends had gotten a hold of me. would you have still wanted me?"

With the silence Dwayne pondered what she was asking him.

"Answer me. I need to know."

"Are you telling me that had you had been were you were supposed to be that you'd be getting your innocence stolen right about now?"

"The tone in your voice answered my question."

"Emilia, answer my question so I know how to answer yours."

"Yes!" she pushed herself off the steps and looked him in the eyes. "If it wasn't for you I'd be getting raped right now! Is that was you want to hear? Is it?"

"Em, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. " he walked up to where she stood and hugged her tight. "I only want you to know that you're protected

and loved."

She snuggled into the embrace.

"I know you do. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving me a reason not to go."

He kissed the top of her head.

"You're welcome little lady."

She giggled at him and surprised him by cupping his cheeks and kissing him. Caught off guard Dwayne stumbled backwards until he almost tripped on the porch steps. Mili laughed at him as she sat in his lap.

"At least you're not crying anymore."

* * *

Inside everyone was sitting around listening to Regina tell her story again to the male Ducks while the girls and Scooter listened.

"Isn't there something that can be done legally? The statue is hasn't expired yet."

"I've tried. But you all know by now how much clout Tom Riley has when he wants to throw around his money and connections."

"True. Maybe we should involve my dad. He is a lawyer."

"I really appreciate what you're all trying to do. But it won't work. If old man Riley didn't spin it little boy Riley did."

"Now he's after our girl." the anger in Fulton's eyes was one that not many had ever truly seen. "Marianne, she's been at Eden since the year before us." Fulton's anger got worse. "Son of a fucking bitch!"

Tammy was the first to pick up on this.

"What's the matter?"

"The end of last year. Do you remember when Marianne went to that party? She called us and said she was feeling sick. When we got there we couldn't find her. We looked all over."

Tammy knew what he was talking about.

"No," she shook her head. "please don't tell me you think it was him."

"If not him then his crony."

"Maybe you should call her before you say anything else."

He nodded agreeing with her logic. They both know that martianne wouldn't want anyone to know unless it was important. She especially didn't want the Ducks to know.

"What are you talking about?"

"his older sister." Was all tammy said before she and fulton left the room. A couple of minutes passed before they came back.

"When we finally found her, she was knocked out. Her clothes were torn. There was blood on the bed."

"And I swore if I ever found out who did it that I'd rip him to pieces."

"Poor girl was in shock when she woke up in the hospital. We had to wait till she was awake. Didn't want anyone near her but me and Fult. But the doctor, she wouldn't let him stay. Not even after I told her he was Mar's brother."

"I say we lynch his preppy rapist butt."

"Don't you get it? He doesn't stop till he gets what he wants. And right now what he wants is that girl! She's in danger just being on campus. It doesn't matter that she's guarded everywhere she goes. At this point all the girls are probably in the same boat just by being so closely associated with her."

"What can we do to protect Mils? And the rest of the girls."

"Never let them out of your sight."

* * *

**Author's Note: All right. that's it for now. I should have probably warned everyone that this chapter was going to mention the topic I mentions. To anyone who is offend by or has a vulnerable spot for this topic, I'm sorry. But it has been part of the story in my head from the beginning. I just didn't know who exactly it would affect when I first thought of it or how. I really hope I haven't offend or upset anyone with this chapter. Again, if I did, I'm really sorry.**


	9. Troubles and Worries All Around

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own the Mighty Ducks or any members of the Varsity team that show up here. They all belong to Disney. I only own my original characters. I also don't own any movies, bands or lyrics mentioned.**

**Author's Note:**** Thank you to everyone who's been reading this. I'm just sorry it took me so long to get this updated. I hate writer's block. And school has been a pain. Thank you to everyone sticking with this story, I really appreciate the support. I hope everyone likes this chapter. Enjoy :-)**

**Chapter Nine: Troubles and Worries All Around**

"So now that we know what this Riley punk is capable of what are we gonna do about it?"

"I don't know Portman. All I know is that my cousin along with the rest of the girls is in danger."

"Mendoza's right. I might've failed my sister but I'm not gonna fail the others."

"You didn't fail me baby brother. You couldn't have known that some jackass was gonna hurt me like that. I just wish I knew who it was." She looked around the room at everyone starting at her. "Hi, most of you probably don't know or recognize me but I'm Marianne Reed."

"Annie, you were the girl at that party last year?" Scooter asked her. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Everyone looked at him with shocked faces when they saw his face paled at whatever realization he came to.

"What is it Scott?' Regina asked with her hand gripping his.

"It's my fault you were raped Annie. I'm so sorry."

"What do you mean?"

"We were talking and you had a cup in your hand. You put it on the table to answer you phone when it rang. I wasn't paying attention till I saw you pick it back up. It didn't occur to me that someone might've drugged you then. But when we all started dancing in a group with some of our friends you looked a little out of it. That's when you went upstairs. Must've been to call someone to come get you. I should have kept a better eye on you."

"Scooter, I don't blame you for what happened that night. I could've easily asked you to hold my cup instead of putting it down. I could've also asked one of the girls to go with me when I made my phone call, so many other things. But I don't think I'm to blame either. If anyone is it would be whoever drugged me. It could've happened to any girl there that night."

"She's right." Tammy said turning to Marianne. "When I was helping Fult try to find you at that party some guy tried to give me some drink." She turned to look at everybody else. "When I said no he tried to force the drink down my throat. Unfortunately for him I had been taught the Gaffney Iceland Special and ran till I found Fulton. That's when we found you Mare."

"You never told me that. I would've pummeled him if you hadn't. Too bad we hadn't found you earlier sis. If we had then I'd at least know who to kill for hurting you."

"Don't talk like that. At least the guy was nice enough to not give me an STD."

"Speaking of which, did you talk our vitamins today?"

"No Doctor Reed, I didn't. I need to get a refill."

"Vitamins? For what?" The question came from Julie. "And what would it have to do with –" She cut herself off when the answer came to her.

"That's right, judging by the look on your face. As of next week I'll be five and a half months along."

"But isn't there a pill they can give you in a case like this?"

"They couldn't give it to me because the drugs were still in my system. Plus they didn't know if I'd be allergic to it or not. So I wound up with a baby."

"Are you gonna keep it?"

"I don't know yet. The jury's still out." She said while placing a protective hand on her baby bump. "This kid is an innocent. It didn't ask to b concaved as a product of rape."

Fulton pulled his sister in his arms.

"Have I told you how brave I think you are for having this baby?"

"Not in the last twenty-four hours." She replied with a laugh. "But thank you for saying it."

"Do you know what it is yet?" Jasmine asked sitting in Kenny's lap. "Maybe it'll help you make up your mind."

"My doctor said we'll find out next week." Marianne kept rubbing her belly. "In the meantime the board is giving me a leave of absence for the rest of the year. Normally they'd just take away my scholarship. But since I'm one of their biggest assets they had no other choice but to keep me."

"Not to mention my family would have found a way to keep you in school Annie."

"No offense Scooter but how do you even know my sister." Fulton asked in a protective nature.

The three older teens laughed as they looked at each other. Regina was the first to speak up.

"We were all put in the same group together at orientation freshman year."

"Me and Regie were even assigned as dorm buddies that year since both of our roommates were upperclassman." Marianne recalled with a wistful gleam in her eyes. "It all seems so long ago."

* * *

"Where in the Hell is SHE?" The angry voice was getting more impatient as more time when on. "That little bitch better not be out getting fucked by that stupid cowboy! I get to nail that little slut before any other guy lays a hand on her. She's mine! MINE!"

"Calm down man. I wonder if the little cocktease is worth it. I'm seriously thinking of bailing if we really have to go through all these hoops just to get a piece of tail. I could easily be scoring some hot little freshman pies and I'm sure Cole here will agree with me."

"You know Rick, the kid has a point."

"Then both of you can leave. More for me anyway."

"But what if she's not alone when she finally shows up? You'll need backup."

"I don't give a flying fuck what you think. Leave, don't leave. Your choice entirely."

* * *

"Do you think it's safe to go back in there?"

"Safer than being on campus. Right now anywhere is safer than that place."

"I'm sorry Em. If only I could sweep you away to Texas so we could hide you. But it'd probably be the first or second place those guys would look."

"It's okay. It's the thought that counts." She answered biting her lip. "But to be honest, I wish I really could run away. But I know that Rick Riley won't stop till he gets what he wants. And that scares me now that I know how far he will go to get it. If it hadn't been for Regina finding out what they were up to there's no telling how my night would've gone if I had kept my spot and if I had decided to go by myself."

"Don't think about it. It'll only make you more nervous or scared and I don't know if I'll be able to keep your fears at bay once they get stronger." He said stroking her cheek. "You don't deserve any of this. No one does."

Mili sank into his arms crying once more.

* * *

**Author's Note:**** Another chapter down for the count. I really hope ya'll liked this chapter. But I really hope I didn't disappoint any of you that were waiting for a new update to this story. Before I forget, I have a new poll on my profile that goes with this story. I would really appreciate if ya'll would please vote. It's been up for a while but I've only gotten a total of two votes.. Please let me know what opinions you have on this chapter. It would really help to know if I haven't messed this story up. Okay, I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend.**


End file.
